LIV Golf pay record £1.5m fine so Bernd Wiesberger can relaunch DP Tour career
LIV Golf has paid a record fine of almost £1.5 million to allow Bernd Wiesberger to restart his career on the DP World Tour.
The Austrian Ryder Cup player is currently suspended after playing in a breakaway league before the end of his contract and losing his spot in the 48 team league.
Wiesberger, 38, may have sought to regain his spot at LIV’s Q-School event in Abu Dhabi in two weeks’ time, or he may have entered LIV’s “free agency” phase .
He may have been scouted by his former team, captain Martin Kaymer, or another of the 12 teams.
However, he submitted a request to play on the home tour again, which was approved as long as he complied with the sanctions imposed for playing at LIV without permission from Wentworth headquarters.
In addition to the suspension, which will keep him out until at least mid-January, Wiesberger was also given the largest fine in golf history.
LIV resolved this bill on Mr. Wiesberger’s behalf, fulfilling the promise they made when it was signed last year. The golfers were initially assured by LIV chief executive Greg Norman that they would be able to play on the LIV and DP World Tours, but the Rebels lost a hearing earlier this year and the tour did not allow players who broke the rules.
The court ruled that they had the right to expel the Membership Terms. The ruling led to the retirement of many players from the tour, including Ryder Cup legends Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Graeme McDowell, but Wiesberger was only one player this year. Despite participating in two matches, he refused to submit his card and was eliminated. Right to play in any tour event.
And as he took part in more LIV events, he played 22 games in his two years in the league and collected more than £3.
5 million in prize money – with fines continuing to add up, the total is staggering It has become something like that. He hasn’t played on tour since January’s Desert Classic, and this $8 million tournament could be his next in seven weeks.
“Bernd Wiesberger’s membership application for the 2024 season has been accepted by the DP World Tour,” the tour said in a statement. “Wiesberger’s membership has been terminated and he has been excluded from the Race to Dubai as he did not meet the Tour’s minimum requirements.” He only competed in two counting events: the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the Hero Dubai Desert.
As such, they will be subject to the 2023 season counting event regulations.
Classic. “He then expressed a desire to play the full DP World Tour schedule in 2024, and all sanctions imposed for violations of the tour’s conflicting event rules over the years starting in 2022 Complied with (both financial and tournament bans)” 2023.
“As a result, his request for reinstatement has been granted by DP World Tour CEO Keith Perry in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Membership Bylaws.”
Wisberger is one of the top 40 earners in Tour history. exempted as such. He has won eight times, including the 2019 Scottish Open, and represented Europe in the 2021 Ryder Cup, where he lost at Whistling Straits. On social media, he emphasized his intention to give it his all.
“I’m happy to announce that my focus for next year is on the DP World Tour,” he posted on social media. “I have never canceled a membership, so I am grateful for the opportunity to play the full program again.”
His return highlights that there is a route back for the LIV players. However, it is understood that the likes of Westwood, Poulter and Co would have to pay their own fines because of the nature of their contracts. Yet this could change if the ongoing negotiations of a merger between the Saudi sovereign wealth fund – that bankrolls LIV – and the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour are a success and the details of a new pathway back can be agreed.
