Veteran Blast Pros Worried About Returning LIV Stars: ‘Too Selfish’

With the future of LIV Golf in doubt following PIF’s decision to withdraw funding, speculation has been raised whether LIV stars like Bryson DeChambeau will try and return to the PGA Tour. But there’s a much easier path for LIV pros looking to move up from the rookie league: the DP World Tour.

And one DP World Tour veteran is adamant the tournament should “welcome (LIV pros) back”. That player is Pablo Larrazabal.

In one interview with Today’s playerLarrazabal also shared a strong message for the “very selfish” DPWT players who, fearing to lose playing opportunities, want to make it difficult for the LIV pros to return.

Pablo Larrazabal invokes Rory McIlroy’s ‘play better’ mantra at LIV message

The DP World Tour would benefit greatly from the return of star players from LIV Golf. Not only the biggest names like DeChambeau and Jon Rahmbut also European legends like Sergio Garcia AND Lee Westwood.

But the reality is that if 15-20 LIV pros start regularly playing DP World Tour events, as some reports claimsome of the current DPWT players will be adversely affected. They would see their finishes drop along with their prize winnings. They may even lose places in the tournament.

In his interview with Today’s playerHowever, Larrazabal showed no sympathy for those players’ fears.

“People are very selfish. If you finish fifth this week – bring the LIV players, you will probably finish 15th. So they will take about 30, 40 euros out of your pocket,” Larrazabal said. Today’s player. “But to win golf tournaments, you have to be the best. And to make money, you have to be the best. I want to beat Sergio Garcia. I want to beat Jon Rahm on Sunday afternoon. And kids, they want to be rich. They want to get rich, not beat anybody. And that’s very selfish.”

Adding weight to Larrazabal’s argument is the fact that he is the very player who could see career opportunities disappear with the return of LIV stars. Although he has captured nine DP World Tour victories in a long career, the 42-year-old has struggled recently and is currently ranked 152nd in the Race to Dubai standings.

The veteran profession continued to call a quote from Rory McIlroy to express his opinion. McIlroy’s quote was originally inspired by lesser PGA Tour pros who feared that changes to that Tour would hurt them.

“Rory McIlroy said in the past that you want to get into the big tournaments, the money tournaments, ‘play better.’ If you’re playing like I am today, you’re going to play smaller tournaments,” Larrazabal said. “You want to be the best. (Some of) the best are at LIV and we should welcome them back.”

Pro sees the return of LIV stars as a boon for the DP World Tour

Larrazabal also revealed specifics on how he sees the return of LIV’s star pros benefiting from the DP World Tour, including attracting more sponsors and potentially increasing purses.

“This seven- or 10-player (LIV) tournament week in and week out, we’re going to have more sponsors. We’re going to have better venues and better golf tournaments. It’s time to let them in. How great would this tournament be with Bryson DeChambeau or Jon Rahm? It’s going to be massive. Instead of playing for $2.5 million, they’re going to need $4 million or $27 million. We need them,” Larrazabal said. Today’s player.

He went on to repeat his “welcome them back” mantra, especially when it comes to the European stars from Ryder Cup history.

“We have to welcome Sergio Garcia. Lee Westwood, (former) world number one. We have to welcome Martin Kaymer. We have to welcome the guys who made the tour what it is now. They did what they wanted to do. Who is a tour to tell us what to do? We have to do as much as we can for our people at home, for our families. Fortunately – whatever you want to call it – they’re not going to be involved in the Ryder Cup.”

DP World Tour winner sounds on LIV pros who want to return

The circumstances surrounding LIV pros playing DP World Tour events are not the same for every player. Several players resigned their DP World Tour memberships when they moved to LIV. Others went a step further and sued the tournament. But some players kept their DP World Tour cards, paying fines when they broke the rules by playing LIV events in the same week as DP World Tour events.

Furthermore, in February, The DP World Tour awarded releases to eight LIV professionals continue to play LIV events without accruing additional fines and penalties. Those players are Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig and Elvis Smylie.

So, in most cases, current LIV Pros are eligible to play DP World Tour events now. This differs from the situation on the PGA Tour, where returning LIV pros will face, at a minimum, a one-year suspension and possible fines.

But six-time winner of the DP World Tour Joost Luiten thinks the DP World Tour should make it “very difficult” for LIV pros to come back, as he put it Today’s player.

“They left very quickly and were very happy to get the money. Not all, but a lot of them spoke badly about this tournament,” Luiten said. “They should make it difficult to return. I’m not saying it should be impossible, but I think it should be difficult. I think the fines should stay in place.”

Luiten then went on to criticize those DP World Tour pros who left for LIV, arguing that they want “the best of both worlds”.

“When you leave, you have to sit on the bubbles – it’s a Dutch saying. It means they made their decision and now they have to deal with the consequences,” Luiten said. “They were happy to get the money and nothing was good enough. Now they want to go back and have the best of both worlds. I think that’s not really fair. They made the decision and now they have to live with it.”

As for what the path back should look like, Luiten shared one idea: Q School.

“They should go back to Q school. That’s the fairest thing you can do. Let them fight there. No one wants to go to tournament school. That’s the fairest thing you can do… You lose your status in this tournament and deal with it.”

You can read whole Today’s player report here.