Ryder Cup heroes Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter resign from DP World Tour over LIV Golf sanctions
- Move comes in response to hefty fines the European tour imposed for playing on the new circuit
- Defiant DPWT says latest outcome of battle within golf is ‘a consequence of their own choices’
LIV Golf quartet Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Richard Bland have resigned from the European tour instead of facing fines of £100,000 (US$125,000) for playing in the league without permission.
The foursome were among those who played the inaugural LIV Golf event outside London last June and violated the conflicting tournament regulation policy.
In a statement, the DP World Tour thanked the four players for their contributions – particularly Westwood, Garcia and Poulter for their roles in Europe’s dominance of the Ryder Cup.
“Their resignations, however, along with the sanctions imposed upon them, are a consequence of their own choices,” the tour said.
The decision stems from last month’s court ruling that a number of players committed serious breaches of the tour’s code of behaviour by playing in LIV last year.
That ruling allowed the tour to impose fines of £100,000. Instead of paying the fine, the four players chose to resign.
