PGA Tour, DP World Tour & Asian Tour alliance puts pressure on LIV - BBC

What the report says

BBC News reports that LIV Golf has been put under fresh pressure after the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Asian Tour announced a new global alliance. The agreement, confirmed around meetings during last week’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, takes effect immediately and expands the existing PGA Tour-DP World Tour strategic partnership, which will now run until at least 2029.

According to the BBC, the new arrangement will create commercial and playing opportunities across the three tours, including routes for leading Asian-based golfers to earn DP World Tour playing rights from the 2027 season. Some tournaments are also expected to return to co-sanctioning between the DP World Tour and Asian Tour, reviving a model used before the Asian Tour’s previous alignment with LIV Golf.

The development is significant because the Asian Tour had been an important part of LIV’s structure. It partnered with LIV in 2021, before the Saudi-backed breakaway league began, and provided promotion pathways and additional events for LIV players. BBC golf correspondent Iain Carter reports that LIV is already dealing with the loss of Saudi financial backing after more than £3.75bn was spent supporting its first three years.

Rory McIlroy welcomed the move on social media, calling it positive for international golf. Asian Tour CEO Cho Minn Thant said the partnership would strengthen golf in Asia, while officials from the DP World Tour and PGA Tour described it as a broader collaborative step. The BBC says the agreement is a setback for LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil, who is seeking major investment to sustain a circuit featuring players such as Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.