Paul McGinley has hit out at LIV Golf for what he sees as a combative approach since it launched last year.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, the former DP World Tour board member accused the rival circuit of acting aggressively ever since emerged it last June. He said: ‘Their very first event was played in London. It was played in the heartland of the European Tour”.
As LIV Golf made plans to expand to a 14-tournament League for 2023, one of the courses it captured was particularly controversial – the iconic Real Club de Valderrama in Spain.
That’s something McGinley saw as another act of aggression on the part of the big-money venture. He said: “Now they’ve taken Valderrama, an iconic Ryder Cup venue, put it on their schedule, that’s competitive. They’re acting in a very aggressive way and the European Tour have a right to protect their business.”
Two weeks ago, it was revealed that the DP World Tour had won its legal battle against LIV Golf players, making it unlikely stars including Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia will take part in either it or the Ryder Cup again. While McGinley insisted it was ‘sad’ that Poulter ‘probably’ won’t become a Ryder Cup captain, he claims it wouldn’t be right to welcome LIV Golfers back into the fold.
“From a European context, we’ve now lost five events on the European Tour to the LIV tour," he explained. "Why should we welcome them back with open arms when they’re actively taking tournaments off our schedule?"
Still, McGinley admitted that stance could change in the future. He said: “I am tired of everybody having an opinion that it’s either black or it’s white. Relations are stalled at this moment in time. And I’m all in favour of a compromise somewhere down the line. But I know it’s going to take a few years for that to work its way out. The important thing is now, the European Tour have got the leverage to create a compromise that suits them.’”
The PGA Tour has famously taken an uncompromising stance against LIV Golf since the outset. Emboldened by the result of the arbitration hearing, it seems the DP World Tour is now likely to follow suit, at least for the time being. However, as LIV Golf prepares for its first tournament in Australia, Norman insisted that, as well as having 'a long list of players' wanting to join, it wasn’t trying to threaten its rivals.
He said: “I just know our model is here to stay. It’s not a vindictive attitude or approach or anything like that. It’s my desire to do what is right for the game of golf and what is right for the players, and what is right for the fans that are out here.”
