Lee Westwood in February at LIV Golf’s occasion in Mexico.
Getty Photographs
Lee Westwood, who joined three different LIV Golf gamers in resigning their DP World Tour membership this week, slammed the previously named European Tour, questioning its sanctions after his transfer to the Saudi-backed league and calling the DP World Tour a “feeder tour” for the PGA Tour.
“Folks say I knew precisely what would occur, however no one advised us the extent of the punishments,” Westwood advised the Unbiased in a narrative printed Thursday. “And so they proceed to try this. The best way I view it’s that, as a European Tour member, I used to be allowed to be a member of the PGA Tour with none downside for all these years. Inform me, what’s the distinction? Simply because LIV is funded by the Saudis — a rustic the place my tour used to play and the place we had been inspired to play? …
“However now, in my view, the European Tour has jumped absolutely in mattress with the PGA Tour, and despite the fact that Keith [Pelley, the DP World Tour chief executive] says he hates to listen to it, it’s now a feeder tour for the PGA Tour. … Sorry, I don’t need to play beneath that form of regime.”
Westwood’s feedback to the Telegraph — which you possibly can learn in full right here — come after he and fellow LIV gamers Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Richard Bland resigned their DP World Tour memberships this week. The strikes come about one month after a panel dominated that the DP World Tour may sanction its members for breaches of the tour’s conflicting-tournament regulation dedicated final June, when LIV began play.
Affirmation of the resignations was made in an announcement by the DP World Tour on Wednesday.
“The DP World Tour wish to take this chance to thank the 4 gamers for the contribution they’ve made to the Tour,” the assertion learn, “and specifically to Sergio, Ian and Lee for the numerous half they’ve performed in Europe’s success within the Ryder Cup over a few years.
“Their resignations, nevertheless, together with the sanctions imposed upon them, are a consequence of their very own decisions. As we’ve got persistently maintained all through the previous yr, the Tour has a duty to its total membership to manage the member laws which every participant indicators as much as. These laws are in place to guard the collective pursuits of all DP World Tour members.”
On Thursday, the DP World Tour issued a second assertion, saying that 16 of the 17 gamers it had sanctioned had paid its £100,000 wonderful — and noting that solely Garcia hadn’t. It added that additional sanctions, for these golfers who continued to play in LIV occasions, might be introduced subsequent week.
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In his interview with the Telegraph, Westwood mentioned that his resignation “wasn’t an easy choice and never one I’ve taken calmly in any respect.” Since his transfer to LIV, he has additionally defended the tour that’s now enjoying its second season, and has questioned the course of the DP World Tour, which has entered right into a “strategic alliance” with the PGA Tour.
The resignations additionally imply that Westwood, Garcia, Poulter and Bland won’t be eligible to take part within the Ryder Cup, both as a participant or a captain. Notably, Westwood has performed in 11 Ryder Cups, Garcia 10 and Poulter seven, and Garcia is the all-time chief in matches received.
“I by no means would have believed it had ended like this and there must be a little bit of disappointment, in fact,” Westwood advised the Telegraph.
Additionally on Thursday, after his play in the course of the first spherical of the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship, Rory McIlroy 4 instances known as the resignations “a disgrace.” Over the previous yr, the Northern Irishman has been outspoken in opposition to LIV.
“Yeah, I imply, I believe it’s a disgrace, proper?” he mentioned. “I believe it’s a disgrace that you just’ve obtained the best factors scorer ever within the Ryder Cup and two guys that after they look again on their profession, that’s most likely going to be at the least a giant chunk of their legacy is the roles that they’ve performed within the Ryder Cup for Europe. For these three guys to not captain Europe in the future, it’s a disgrace. However because the DP World Tour mentioned of their assertion, on the finish of the day, that was their selection and so they knew that these had been probably going to be the results of these decisions and of these actions and right here we’re.
“Yeah, it’s actually a disgrace.”
