The European Tour has delivered an ultimatum to players involved with LIV Golf, stating that anyone who joins the breakaway circuit will not be allowed to remain a European Tour member. Chief Executive Guy Kinnings said players must make a choice, ending a previous policy that allowed coexistence in exchange for fines.
Kinnings said the tour had rules and regulations to protect it and that players unwilling to comply should not seek to join.
The ultimatum arrives as LIV Golf attempts to emerge from bankruptcy after Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund cut financial support. LIV has secured up to $300 million from BC Partners to launch a streamlined "LIV 2.0" season built around team competition and player equity.
Players have until October 25 to decide their 2027 allegiances. The Ryder Cup, which requires European Tour membership, looms large for European stars such as Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk and Thomas Detry. Former world number one Jon Rahm is seeking to terminate his LIV contract, a move his lawyer confirmed in a recent bankruptcy hearing. Sergio Garcia and David Puig have also signalled their desire to leave LIV.
The European Tour is simultaneously negotiating a renewed alliance with the PGA Tour that includes a commercial partnership and a pathway for its leading Race to Dubai players to earn PGA Tour cards. Patrick Reed and Eugenio Chacarra are positioned to benefit. The PGA Tour maintains a minimum one-year ban from a player's last LIV appearance, complicating instant returns. Australian players Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Elvius Smylie and Marc Leishman, who all competed in the LIV league in 2026, face the consequences of the new policy.