PGA Tour, DP World Tour & Asian Tour alliance puts pressure on LIV
LIV Golf has been dealt another blow with the announcement of a global alliance between the leading men’s professional tours.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy has welcomed the PGA Tour and DP World Tour’s partnership with the Asian Tour linked to the LIV circuit.
LIV, whose next event kicks off at the JCB Club in Staffordshire on Thursday, is already reeling after the withdrawal of financial support from Saudi Arabia after the Kingdom provided more than £3.75bn to fund its first three years.
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour’s new partnership with the Asian Tour was confirmed at the Open Championship meetings at Royal Birkdale last week.
“Positive news,” McIlroy said in his social media post. “It is great to see the relevant tours working together for the good of international golf.”
The PGA and DP World Tours already had a strategic alliance that will be extended until at least 2029. This agreement, which could expire next year, has been discussed in recent months.
The Asian Tour partnered with LIV in 2021 ahead of the launch of the breakaway league the following year. It offered a path to promotion and relegation to LIV’s $30 million tournament series.
Under the old agreement, the top two finishers in the Asian Tour’s order of merit were entitled to promotion to LIV for the 2026 season.
The Asian Tour’s Saudi-backed International Series has also provided lucrative playing opportunities for LIV’s leading stars banned by the PGA Tour.
These were controversial events because some were staged in Europe and infringed on areas that had previously been the traditional territory of the DP World Tour.
The PGA and DP World Tours, through their existing strategic alliance, will partner with the Asian Tour to provide commercial and gaming opportunities, effective immediately.
There will also be pathways that will allow Asia’s top golfers to play their dues starting with the 2027 DP World Tour season.
Some events will return to joint sanctions between DP World and the Asian tours, as was the case before the alliance with LIV.
