Keith Pelley, the CEO of the DP World Tour, has rubbished claims from LIV rebel Sergio Garcia that the European circuit is in danger of falling to fifth in the global pecking order.
In a wide-ranging and occasionally scathing retort to what he described as the ‘LIV propaganda machine’, Pelley targeted the withering critique of his Tour by Ryder Cup legend Garcia, who in July said the DP would soon fall behind LIV, the Asian Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour, as well as the PGA Tour.
Garcia’s comments have been echoed in similar sentiments from Lee Westwood, who, like the Spaniard, committed huge swathes of his career to playing in Europe prior to signing for LIV.
Westwood has since been pointed in his view that the DP World Tour’s has slipped over many years into the role of a ‘feeder’ circuit to the PGA Tour.
Pelley, speaking out ahead of the BMW PGA Championships at Wentworth after remaining predominantly silent through golf’s civil war, emphatically rejected that perspective as ‘nonsense’.
He said: ‘Some of these players have said we are a feeder tour, and even made a suggestion that we are headed towards being the fifth tour in the world. A feeder tour is a tour that exists purely to allow players to get to the next level. The Challenge Tour is a feeder tour. The Korn Ferry Tour is a feeder tour.
Keith Pelley, the CEO of the DP World Tour, has rubbished claims from LIV rebel Sergio Garcia
Garcia said that the European circuit is in danger of falling to fifth in the global pecking order
‘I’ll ask you: Is this week a tournament that is on a feeder tour? A tournament that has sold-out crowds, television coverage around the world in 150 countries, five of the Top 15 players in the world? A tournament with 150 accredited media? I could go on and on.
‘No, is the answer to all these questions. So can we please just stop the feeder tour nonsense once and for all. And as to the point of heading towards being the world’s fifth tour, one of our members who is playing here this week actually said that. It’s unbelievable.
‘And again, let’s look at the facts. If the metrics were determining the top tours in the world is just money, then the No 1 tour is the PGA Tour. Always has been. You could argue that the LIV Invitational Series is No 2. But the Asian Tour, 22.5 million (dollars prize fund); Korn Ferry, 20 million; Japan, 28 million; Australia, 5.8; Sunshine Tour, 7.4: Totalling all their prize funds together comes to just half of our Tour. So even if the only metric is money, how possibly could we ever become No 5?’
Pelley spoke out ahead of BMW PGA Championships at Wentworth, which starts on Thursday
In a lengthy media briefing, Pelley also shot down claims the DP World Tour rejected a $1billion offer in 2021 to partner with Golf Saudi. It has been presented in some quarters as a missed chance prior to the storm that has now engulfed golf.
He said: ‘I know that many people still quote the Malta meeting and the supposed billion dollar offer that was made to us by Golf Saudi, which is a large part of the reason behind the claim that we missed an opportunity with the Saudis.
‘There’s only one word to describe that claim, and that is ‘fictitious’. I genuinely do not know how many times I can make this point. And you can ask any member of our board of directors, and they will unanimously confirm that it was not an offer, it was not a deal, it was merely a marketing presentation put together on behalf of Golf Saudi.
‘When it was reviewed by our board of directors on September 7, 2021 it was dismissed. I’d love to share the actual document with you but we have no intention of sharing a document that isn’t ours to share. In many ways I wish I could because it would put to bed all this speculation once and for all.’
In criticising how the LIV side have approached the furore, Pelley added: ‘As I said to our partners and sponsors on a Zoom call last week, it is easy to get dragged down by the LIV propaganda machine, churning out negative news stories and misinformation about the poor state of the traditional golfing world, including our tour.
It’s just not right. And let me make this perfectly clear: nothing could be further from the truth. We are in excellent shape and set to get even stronger.’
Contrary to the PGA Tour, with whom the DP World Tour have a strategic alliance, Pelley refused to shut the door permanently on LIV defectors who might wish to return to Europe in future.
Asked if there was a scenario where players could come back into the fold, he said: ‘I would say that that would be a hypothetical situation at this particular time, and I tend not to speak on hypothetical situations. But if that does happen, I would have a conversation with the individual.’
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