DP World Tour players hoping to tee it up in December’s LIV Golf Promotions event will reportedly need to secure a release.
Per The Times, players were sent a memo outlining the need to apply in writing for a release, which is a different approach to the one taken by the PGA Tour, which is allowing its players to compete in the tournament should they wish to.
The qualifier, which will offer LIV Golf contracts to the players who finish in the top three, has been deemed a conflicting event by the DP World Tour, which takes place in Abu Dhabi between 8 and 10 December - the dates the final three rounds of the Tour's Alfred Dunhill Championship will be played.
The memo, which also specified a deadline of 8 November for any player wishing to apply for a release, reads: “If you take up membership for the 2024 season and wish to play in any tournament other than the Alfred Dunhill Championship (and which is therefore a conflicting tournament as defined in the regulations), then, in accordance with the regulations and unless the stated exceptions applies, you must apply in writing for a release to play in that conflicting tournament by no later than 8 November 2023.
“The chief executive [Keith Pelley] will determine whether or not to grant a release and his decision will be communicated directly to the applicable player.”
That stance contrasts with the one taken by the PGA Tour, an approach that has raised eyebrows given the animosity that has existed between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf since the latter’s inception in 2022.
One LIV Golf player, Patrick Reed, had said he hopes the PGA Tour’s decision on the LIV Golf Promotions event marks “a step in the right direction.” That may prove to be the case, particularly given the PGA Tour’s ongoing talks over a framework agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund that finances LIV Golf.
However, perhaps importantly, unlike the DP World Tour, there isn’t a full-field PGA Tour event in the week of the LIV Golf qualifier. Instead, the Grant Thornton Invitational, a mixed team tournament featuring just 16 PGA Tour players and an equal number from the LPGA Tour, will be held for the first time.
The Alfred Dunhill Championship features a purse of €1.5 million (approx. $1.6m), which is only marginally more than the $1.5m offered by the LIV Golf Promotions tournament. However, that is unlikely to be the primary incentive for DP World Tour players to compete in the UAE rather than South Africa that week.
Potentially much more lucrative will be the chance to earn a LIV Golf contract for the 2024 season. After all, each of LIV Golf's regular-season events features $20m in individual prize money shared between the 48-player field. Not only that, but in each tournament, there is a guarantee of $120,000, even for the player finishing last.
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