LIV Golf wanted to “destroy” the European tour, the head of the worldwide circuit has said as he prepares to welcome back many of the players who defected to the Saudi-funded breakaway league over the past four years.
The professional golfing landscape was upended by the formation of LIV, which took some of the top stars from the European and PGA Tours after they accepted huge sums by PIF — Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund that bankrolled the project.
Now, the breakaway league is battling to simply survive — in the form of a watered-down “LIV 2.0” version and without Saudi investment — as it works through Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a pledge of $300 million from BC Partners Credit.
That has led to most of LIV’s top names quitting the league and planning to return to the established circuits, with Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Sergio Garcia coming back to the European tour and others set to be eligible for sponsor invites.
Guy Kinnings, CEO of the European tour, is having to weigh up regaining some star power with unhappiness among some of his members that LIV players are just walking back onto the tour having caused so much disruption.
In an interview with The Scotsman newspaper, Kinnings accepted there was a balance to strike in integrating the returning players.
“But we also have to protect the tour against an entity who spent, so we are told, over $7 billion, with one of their aims being to ‘destroy the DP World Tour,’” Kinnings said. “I have heard that from so many different people they talked to, who I have known for over 30 years within the game and who I trust implicitly.
“Clearly when you are faced with statements like that, and then people then ask why we are doing what we are doing with our membership and invite policy for 2027, then I think the answer becomes pretty obvious. Myself and everyone at the DP World Tour have a duty to our members to protect our tour.”
Rory McIlroy, who has been outspoken against LIV Golf since its formation, backed up Kinnings’ comments.
Speaking Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi Championship, McIlroy said: “I agree with everything that Guy said. They took players, they took sponsors, they turned professional golf into an arms race.
“They were going around Augusta (National) saying they wanted to destroy the European tour.”
McIlroy said it was “ironic” that LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil’s motto is now “complete, not compete” – a reference to the breakaway league finding a place in golf’s ecosystem rather than trying to take over.
“That’s different from what they were saying at the start of the year,” McIlroy said. “I think everything that’s transpired, a lot of the guys wanted to come back and play the DP World Tour. I think it puts this tour in a really strong position.”
Kinnings accepted there was “no perfect solution” to welcoming back former LIV players, some of whom have made critical comments about the European tour.
“I understand the sensitivity. It’s got to be as fair as it can be and as merit based as it can be,” he said.
“Regardless of who the players are, they’ve got to prove themselves in the system.”
Kinnings suggested some of the invites for returning LIV players will be targeted at the European tour’s smaller tournaments from February to August, when many top names are competing on the PGA Tour.
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