Westwood warns DP World Tour faces uncertainty after LIV Golf winds down
Lee Westwood said he was worried for the Europe-based DP World Tour after LIV Golf confirmed it would wind down operations, the 53-year-old told BBC Sport on 6 November 2026.
Westwood, who was among the high-profile players lured to the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway tour when it began in 2022, made his remarks after LIV this week confirmed its intention to wind down operations after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) withdrew its financial support and potential new investors pulled out of a deal to back LIV continuing in a new form. Rory McIlroy, Westwood's former Ryder Cup team-mate, agrees with DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings' assertion that LIV aimed to "destroy" their European rivals.
The former world number one questioned how secure the DP World Tour now is and warned the PGA Tour would seek leverage in negotiations. Westwood suggested Europe's top players might be better off playing on the Korn Ferry Tour, the US feeder circuit to the PGA Tour, rather than relying on the European circuit.
Westwood argued the presence of LIV players on the DP World Tour previously gave those players "leverage" because, although LIV players were banned from the PGA Tour, they could still play in some DP World Tour events, but "now LIV's out [of] the way, they've lost that." He added: "LIV going out of business, some people will be disappointed and it might not be people that you immediately think of," and "The European tour, I'm not sure it's such a big win for them."
The PGA Tour and the DP World Tour extended a strategic alliance in July that includes Annual Investment Payments (AIPs); last year that figure was £59m. As part of its structure, the PGA Tour gives tour cards to the top 10 finishers on the DP World Tour who are not already members, and Westwood said "there are a lot of questions still to be answered" about the new terms of the alliance.
The PGA Tour has described the Korn Ferry Tour as its "premier pathway", with 20 cards on offer, and in June announced a new competitive structure featuring a Championship Series and a lower-tier Challenger Series. The Championship Series will feature a "limited series" of events co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, Westwood noted as part of the shifting landscape.
Westwood did not commit to LIV 2.0 and said he is currently "unemployed" as he considers his future; he would have to serve a 10-tournament suspension if he opted to rejoin the DP World Tour. He warned: "If [the DP World Tour] want to continue having the PGA Tour bankrolling them, there are going to be some big asks from the PGA Tour," and added, "If I was [chief executive] Brian Rolapp running the PGA Tour, I would be playing hardball and making a lot of demands of the European tour if they expected me to finance it going forward."
Westwood also cited comments from Rolapp, saying: "[Rolapp has] already said that the Korn Ferry Tour is going to be the main route into the PGA Tour, which makes me think 'what's going to happen to the DP World Tour?' I don't think the DP World Tour has announced any prize funds for next year, which is slightly worrying, and what will prize funds look like from 2028 onwards? There are a lot of questions still to be answered in that strategic alliance partnership." The DP World Tour has so far announced the prize fund for just one event in 2027 – the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January.