Arbitration over, questions abound for DP World Tour chief Keith Pelley

Five months remain until the Ryder Cup in Rome but the DP World Tour can already point to one gladiatorial victory this year.

It was confirmed this morning that Sport Resolutions has upheld the tour’s conflicting tournament release regulation and its ability to sanction members who breached it.

The decision followed an arbitration hearing which took place before an independent three-person panel in February.

Speaking in the aftermath of the decision, Keith Pelley, the chief executive of the tour, resisted the temptation to indulge in pretorian triumphalism. He preferred, instead, to “welcome” the decision, insisting that he and his colleagues are “delighted that [the arbitration panel] have recognised the responsibility that we have as an organisation to administer our rules and regulations.”

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And so to the big question: what happens next?

The PGA Tour – with whom the DP World Tour is in a strategic partnership – issued all of its members who played on the LIV Golf League with an indefinite suspension last June. Its commissioner Jay Monahan has subsequently been consistent in maintaining that he does see a route back to the US-based circuit for any LIV-aligned golfer should they wish to pursue one.

The DP World Tour isn’t going that far. Not yet, anyway.

“There’s going to be a lot of collective discussions and collective joint decision-making,” said Pelley. “We will have discussions with our tournament committee, with our board, with our legal advisors, with our senior staff to determine what is fair and proportionate and that’s the process that we’re going to take.”

A reasonable, measured position. But surely having had so much time to consider multiple all outcomes – the inaugural LIV event took place ten months ago – the DP World Tour has weighed up the options.

For instance, imposing the same weighty sanctions as the PGA Tour.

“I’ve never said that we are banning the players,” added Pelley. “I’ve said that there will be consequences if they break the rules and regulations and they have breached them.”

Understood. However, does Pelley see value in allowing LIV golfers to play on the DP World Tour? As an example, the final round shoot-out between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed in Dubai earlier this year was magnificent sporting theatre, in part because of their excellent play but also, undoubtedly, because of the underlying “them and us” subtext. Surely the DP World Tour wants more of that entertainment, not less?

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Pelley: “We won’t look at one specific tournament or incident and say, because of that, we should do this. But we will look at each case individually at the same time.

“If they adhere to the consequences, if they pay the fines, if they live with the consequences for breaching that we impose on them in the future, then, yeah, we’ll welcome them back. I have no problem with them playing at all.

“I’m disappointed obviously with some of their comments… but I do understand that they own equity in something, and the only way that that equity grows is at the detriment of the tour that they have been on and a part of for so long.

There is, of course, an elephant in the room. The Ryder Cup.

The long-standing suspicion has been that any European players who do go to LIV would be ineligible to play in future editions of the match.

Again, according to Pelley, that’s not the case – providing certain conditions are met.

“In order to qualify for the Ryder Cup, you have to be European and you have to be a member of the DP World Tour,” he said. “If you are, and you qualify through one of the six spots, you’ll be on the Ryder Cup, or if Luke Donald selects one of the six players.

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“I think in terms of the first component of it, I think it will be more difficult for them depending on what other sanctions we impose on them to qualify for the Ryder Cup. But more importantly, the commitments that they have to play against events that are DP World Tour qualifying events will also make it more difficult for them to qualify.

“If they qualify for the Ryder Cup, then they can play on the Ryder Cup but I think it will be difficult for them to do so.”

Three LIV men who won’t have the opportunity to captain a future European Ryder Cup team are Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell and the event’s record points-scorer. Pelley said they can “never” lead or be a vice-captain of future teams because they didn’t meet their minimum requirements for membership of the tour last year.

DECISION | A decision in the appeals brought by multiple Golfers against disciplinary sanctions placed upon them by the PGA European Tour (PGAET) has been issued by the Appeal Panel > https://t.co/14ZtcdWbAW pic.twitter.com/BL3BinDChc

— Sport Resolutions (@Sport_Res) April 6, 2023

“If any year you don’t make your minimum, regardless if you’re an honorary member, you can no longer be Ryder Cup captain and vice-captain,” he said. “So as long as the players make their minimum, they can they can still be Ryder Cup captain and vice-captain, but the minute you fall out of membership and don’t make your minimum, you’re not eligible.”

Pelley’s own disposition during the 30-minute call was hard to characterise. He was neither celebratory nor particularly relieved. If anything, he looked tired. Tired by events of the last year and tired at the prospect of the inevitable, impending next steps.

LIV officials have not yet responded to the news – a text sent by bunkered.co.uk to a senior official at the Saudi-funded circuit has so far gone unanswered – but they and their players presumably have it in their wit to take their case to a higher legal authority. We shall see.

“It’s been an interesting year for sure,” added Pelley. “I think it’s a very important day for members’ organisations in sport all around the world and sport in general who all have rules and regulations.

“There’s rules and regulations everywhere, and it’s not okay to just sign up for something and then just arbitrarily decide not to adhere to those rules and regulations. You know that’s the way the world works.

“That’s life.”

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor