DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley: "I think it'll be tougher for them [LIV players] to get in through the qualifying way if we indeed pose sanctions. They are still very eligible if they qualify or if Luke (Donald) feels that they need to be on the team."
Thursday 6 April 2023 16:44, UK
Chief executive Keith Pelley insists LIV golfers can still represent Team Europe in the Ryder Cup, despite the DP World Tour winning their arbitration case against members of the breakaway circuit.
LIV players were adjudged to have "committed serious breaches" of the DP World Tour's code of behaviour by playing in conflicting events without permission, following a five-day hearing in February featuring arguments from lawyers on both sides.
The hearing result was confirmed by Sports Resolutions UK ahead of opening round of The Masters, with the 12 LIV players' appeals dismissed and leaving them ordered to pay £100,000 fines within 30 days.
Ryder Cup stalwarts Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter were among the LIV players involved in the hearing, although Pelley denied that the result ends their hopes of being involved in future editions of the biennial contest.
"I don't think that is necessarily the case," Pelley told Sky Sports. "Last year, we lost three potential captains in Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer when they fell out of membership by not meeting the minimum requirement according to our tournament regulations.
"Even though you are an honorary member, if you don't meet your minimum requirement, you are no longer eligible to be captain or vice-captain. Whether that happens with some of these players down the road, that is their choice.
"We are not banning these players. In order to play in the Ryder Cup you have to be European and you have to be a member of the DP World Tour, and there's two ways to get in - you can qualify and there's six qualifying spots, or Luke Donald has six picks totally at his discretion.
"I think it'll be tougher for them to get in through the qualifying way if we indeed pose sanctions, but also based on because they've committed to playing in events against playing in DP World Tour qualifying events.
"They are still very eligible if they qualify or if Luke feels that they need to be on the team."
The arbitration panel found that Pelley "acted entirely reasonably in refusing releases" and that the regulations "cannot be said to go beyond what is necessary and proportionate to the continued operation as a professional golf tour", with the DP World Tour now looking at how to impose sanctions going forward.
"We've always said that we'll never begrudge them [LIV players] for going, but they will face consequences," Pelley added. "We now have a process in front of us where we will analyse all facets of the decision.
"On an individual basis, we will discuss our legal advisors, our senior management team, our board, our tournament committee, and determine what is a fair, reasonable and proportionate sanction. Then they [LIV players] have to decide, and it's totally their choice. I don't look at it as a sad day at all, I look at it as a day that allows us to administer our rules and regulations.
"There's a lot of work to be done. There's a lot of forensic analysis, scrutiny, details and meticulous thought that's gone into the $100,000 fine for the Centurion Club and the sanctions. Now we need to do those multiple times.
"I'm coming back to the UK as soon as possible because this is what we need to do, we need to focus on this, we need to make a decision as quick as we possibly can, but to do so, it has to be a collective decision."
In an interview on the Tour's official Twitter account, Pelley dismissed the theory that it could have been advantageous to lose the arbitration case to effectively attract star LIV players to DP World Tour events.
"I vehemently disagree," he said. "That argument has been formed to suit the needs of those that have pushed it, but the opposite has happened.
"Players haven't played their national opens because they have had contractual commitments to play on another tour.
"When they've played, and it's been so very little, they have played in high profile events with large OWGR points. They have certainly not supported the other events on our tour. If the idea is that if the decision went the other way it would have opened the door to play more, I don't buy it."
