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Would Joaquin Niemann take DPWT up on non-affiliated deal and ditch LIV? (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
As LIV Golf players await the fate of the league, several of them are being afforded an opportunity to get sponsor invites via the DP World Tour beyond the maximum allowed.
The catch is that they not sign up for LIV Golf 2.0 or have any lingering contractual obligations to the league.
The offer is to non members of the DP World Tour, and although names have not been disclosed, players such as Joaquin Niemann, Lucas Herbert, Jose Ballester, Caleb Surratt, Dean Burmester, Carlos Ortis and Abraham Ancer would be likely candidates as they are currently not DPWT members but so far not publicly committed to the new version of LIV.
There is one important caveat: this is not necessarily a pathway to the PGA Tour in 2028.
Also in today’s DD …
Forrest is Masters worthy; Blades PGA Tour bound; Brennan top-20 material
When he is clear of LIV, how might Rahm fit back into the PGA Tour ecosystem
Was LIV Golf worth it? Chart illustrates just how much everyone benefitted
Today’s Golfer reported last week that several players were set to exit LIV via the DPWT plan. The offer has been in play for more than a month, going back to early September when the DP World Tour made it clear that conditional releases for LIV golfers would not be available in 2027.
At the time, the DPWT said: “Given the high volume of inbound interest and enquiries we have received in recent weeks, we are exploring the terms on which we are willing to accommodate players provided they are free from third party contractual restrictions and are willing to abide by our membership regulations. Our Tournament Committee has approved the process we intend to follow and we expect further enquiries in the days ahead.”
This didn’t appear to impact someone such as Tyrrell Hatton or Jon Rahm, players who are already DPWT members and could, in theory, do both — subject to DP World Tour fines and suspensions for playing in conflicting events.
But both the BBC Sport and Telegraph reported Monday that the DP World Tour has taken a stricter stance and will revoke membership of anyone who joins LIV 2.0.
“Players need to make a choice,” Guy Kinnings, CEO of the DP World Tour, told BBC Sport. “We have rules and regulations which are there to protect our tour and which our members must all abide by. Players who are not willing to comply with our rules and regulations should not be seeking to join our tour.”
Niemann — who has made four recent DPWT starts including the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on sponsor invites — might find the sponsor exemption offer appealing because based on the report, he could receive “a specific number of tournament invites, which for some could run into double figures based on their value and the amount of space available into events.”
The invites would not immediately permit players into the Rolex Series, the five marque events on the DP World Tour schedule.
For someone like Niemann, it would offer the ability to at carve out somewhat of a schedule beyond the seven exemptions that are typically allowed. Currently ranked No. 34 in the Official World Golf Ranking, he is in good shape to be exempt for the Masters and PGA Championship next year and can solidify and maintain a top-50 ranking with good finishes early in the year. (He’s already exempt into next year’s U.S. Open.)
What Niemann can’t assure, however, is being able to take part in any DP World Tour pathway that through this season has offered the top 10 players not otherwise exempt on the season-long Race to Dubai points list earn a spot the following year on the PGA Tour. That pathway is only available to DPWT members (and it has not been determined how many spots, if any, will be available in 2027 for the new Championship Series that begins in 2028.)
Niemann cannot gain DPWT membership without a victory in 2027. If he were to earn enough affiliate member points throughout the season, he can then gain full membership on the DP World Tour for the 2028 season. The only way to get it earlier is to win.
Niemann — who has a record nine LIV victories over five seasons — won twice on the PGA Tour before leaving for LIV in 2022 and won the 2023 Australian Open. He also recently won his native Chilean Open. He tied for seventh at the 2026 U.S. Open.
On his way to a victory in Chile, Niemann did not rule out a return to LIV but acknowledged the difficulty in coming to a decision without scheduling and league details determined.
Spain’s David Puig, a member of the DP World Tour, has also expressed a desire to leave LIV Golf.
“I don’t see myself playing in the LIV 2.0,” Puig told reporters at the Open de España last week. “It’s a decision I’ve made. I hope to play the European Tour next year, which I really enjoy, with a fuller schedule.”
Meanwhile, LIV Golf continues to wade through bankruptcy court with more details to come by the end of the month.
Grant Forrest earns his first invitation to play in the Masters (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
This week in golf …
Open de España: Scotland’s Grant Forrest buried a 4-footer for birdie on the final hole to win by one in Madrid and secure spots in both the 2027 Masters and Open Championship. He edged out Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra and France’s Viktor Perez. “I was close at the Amateur Championship 11 years ago now, but you could have a great career in this game and never get to go to Augusta — I cannot believe it,” Forrest said. Chacarra climbed to No. 50 in the OWGR and No. 2 in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai standings, essentially securing a 2027 PGA Tour card for the player who chose LIV Golf after his standout Oklahoma State career before leaving the breakaway tour after three seasons because it wasn’t earning OWGR points as promised. Perez, who joined LIV Golf in 2026, missed a 10-footer for birdie on the last. Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen, the 2024 British Amateur champion who forfeited his spot in the 2025 Masters to turn professional, and former English grocery delivery driver Joe Dean stumbled home to miss their chances to reach the Masters.
Baycurrent Classic: Michael Brennan won his third PGA Tour event in just more than a year, shooting final-round 68 at Yokohama CC in Japan to edge out Jacob Bridgeman and Keith Mitchell by one shot. Brennan — who also won last fall’s Bank of Utah Championship as a sponsor exemption and the 2026 Wyndham Championship — climbs to No. 20 in OWGR.
Korn Ferry Tour Championship: Austin Hitt was undeterred by the steady rain, shooting a final-round 66 at the Federal Club near Richmond, Va., to sail past teenager Blades Brown and win the final event of the KFT season to move up from 22nd and secure a 2027 PGA Tour card. Brown (19 years, 4 months, 20 days) becomes the youngest graduate in Korn Ferry Tour history, breaking by seven months the previous record established in 2007 by Jason Day. Davis Lamb made three birdies in his last five holes to finish solo eighth and move up from 23rd to 20th to claim the last card. Nick Gabrelcik’s 65 was one shot shy of securing his card. On the wrong end of the math was Cole Hammer, who fell from 20th to 22nd after a final-round 73. Ross Steelman was T12 in Richmond to overtake Sandy Scott to clinch the No. 1 position on the KFT Points List, earning exemptions for the 2027 Players Championship and U.S. Open.
Brown’s runner-up finish on Sunday was one of three top-three finishes this season, helping him secure the ninth position in the final KFT standings. He will be a fully exempt player on the PGA Tour in 2027, meaning he will get starts in all non-signature events he enters except for the WM Phoenix Open. He can accept sponsor invites, which he will undoubtedly get, into some of the bigger tournaments, thus giving himself ample opportunity to finish among the top 100 players and earn a spot on Championship Series in 2028. Because he earned special temporary membership on the PGA Tour this year, he is eligible for the remaining FedEx Fall events. So far this season, Brown made 11 PGA Tour starts and 17 KKT starts, making a combined 24 of 28 cuts. He finished third at the at the Puerto Rico Open on the PGA Tour and tied for ninth at the Myrtle Beach Classic.
Constellation Furyk & Friends: Senior circuit rookie Vaughn Taylor claimed his first PGA Tour Champions victory with a birdie from 7 feet on the second playoff hole of the Ocean Course at Hammock Dunes in Florida. Taylor and Germany’s Alex Cejka found themselves in a playoff when Michael Wright made double bogey on the final hole to blow a one-shot lead. Taylor’s last of three PGA Tour victories came on the opposite coast 10 years ago at the 2016 Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Aramco Korea Championship: Japan’s Miyu Yamashita won for the fourth time since June on her third different tour, firing a course-record 63 on Sunday at New Korea CC to win the LET event by three shots over Czechia’s Sara Kouskova. The world No. 5 who won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open also won the Meijer LPGA Classic and CPKC Women’s Open this summer along with a Japan LPGA event.
Hainan Open: Dutchman Lars van der Vight won his second HotelPlanner Tour title of the season and vaulted into a DP World Tour promotion place with a two-stroke victory at the Hainan Open in China.
Jon Rahm collected more than $108 million in prizes and bonuses (Pedro Salado/LIV Golf)
How Rahm might fit back into PGA Tour plans
Now that Jon Rahm is on a path to leaving LIV Golf — there is a separation agreement still be worked out in the coming days — there is all kind of speculation as to whether or not he will be offered a chance to return to the PGA Tour.
