It’s been half a year since several LIV Golf players were granted conditional releases to compete in DP World Tour events. However, those players from the breakaway tour who are hoping to continue participating in European Tour events are now in for a very expensive surprise. 

According to The Athletic, the DP World Tour has begun notifying LIV Golf players that it will resume imposing significant fines and tournament suspensions from the 2027 season. That’s because they see players participating in LIV Golf events as violations of its conflicting-events rules. 

The Athletic also reports that their sources for the update chose to remain anonymous because they aren’t allowed to speak about it. Traditionally, playing for other leagues, like LIV Golf, is considered a violation of the conflicting events policy. 

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The DP World Tour’s position is backed by a legal ruling that predates the current dispute. In April 2023, an independent Sport Resolutions panel upheld the Tour’s conflicting-tournament regulations and confirmed its right to fine and suspend members who played LIV events after their release requests were denied.

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The panel dismissed the players’ appeals and ordered them to pay the original £100,000 fines. That ruling gave the DP World Tour the authority it is now prepared to use again, meaning any potential sanctions in 2027 would stem from an established and enforceable regulation rather than a new policy.

With that legal framework in place, the DP World Tour began exploring a negotiated resolution with LIV players in early February 2026.

That effort resulted in a February agreement involving eight players. In it, they agreed to pay all the previous outstanding fines and play in European Tour events in 2026. Players who got the conditional release are Tyrrell Hatton, Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig and Elvis Smylie.

Initially, Jon Rahm wasn’t given a conditional release, but he struck a separate deal with the DP World Tour in May. 

In the meantime, LIV Golf CEO Scot O’Neil has been chasing investors to keep the league afloat in 2027 with the LIV 2.0 concept. This will lower purses and the number of tournaments each year. At the same time, it’s offering players the opportunity to become equity owners of the league.

According to the source, they told The Athletic that this is an issue for the DP World Tour. The European Tour fears that players who become equity holders will have priorities in LIV Golf and focus their participation on LIV rather than the DP World Tour. 

This move, of course, makes things difficult for those players ready to invest in LIV Golf, especially because the DP World Tour controls the European Ryder Cup team. That is in addition to running the tournament when it comes to Europe. 

With the 2026 season nearly at its conclusion, a source told The Athletic that the update about the conditional release was given to LIV Golf players at a key moment. That’s because LIV will soon ask its players to renew their contracts for the next season. 

Meanwhile, reports indicate that Jon Rahm is actively seeking an exit from LIV Golf following the 2026 season. And Bryson DeChambeau’s future remains a subject of intense speculation as he approaches contract decisions, though neither has officially finalized a departure yet. 

Not to mention, O’Neil has revealed that the league has managed to secure a new unnamed “lead investor” to help finance its 2027 season. While the agreement is expected to be finalized later, LIV’s CEO confirmed that the investor has already signed a term sheet. 

Despite the apparent new deal, tickets for the Team Championship event in Michigan are reportedly “no longer available” amid rumors of its cancellation.

From the looks of it, the DP World Tour is indirectly making things much more difficult for players willing to stick to LIV Golf as it faces difficult times. But only time will tell how the latest move from the European Tour pans out.