Bernd Wiesberger is to return to playing on the DP World Tour next year after losing his place on the LIV Golf League and paying a £1.5m fine to the European circuit.
The 38-year-old Austrian, who played in the 2021 Ryder Cup, is currently serving out a ban for appearing on the breakaway league before his contract ended and he lost his place in the 48-man league.
Wiesberger could have tried to win back his place at the LIV Qualifying event that takes place in Abu Dhabi in two weeks’ time, or placed himself in LIV’s ‘free agency’ phase that might have seen him re-hired by his former or one of the other 11 teams. However, he submitted an application to re-join the DP World Tour, which was approved so long as he fulfilled the sanctions imposed for playing on LIV.
As well as a suspension that will keep him side-lined until at least the middle of January, Wiesberger was also hit with the biggest financial penalty ever in golf. LIV settled the £1.5m bill on Wiesberger’s behalf, completing an obligation made when he and others were signed last year. The golfers were originally assured by LIV chief executive Greg Norman that they would be able to play on LIV and the DP World Tour, but the rebels lost a hearing earlier this year that adjudicated that the Tour was within its right to exclude players who broke the membership rules.
That verdict saw a raft of resignations from the Tour – including those of Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Graeme McDowell – but Wiesberger resisted handing in his card, although as he only played in two Tour events this year, he lost his playing privileges anyway. And as he competed in 22 events in his two years on LIV Golf league the fines continued to add up, leaving the £1.5m debt.
Wiesberger has exempt status on the DP World Tour as one of the top 40 money-earners. He has won eight times and represented Europe in the 2021 Ryder Cup defeat at Whistling Straits. He revealed his intentions to commit fully to playing on the European circuit on social media, writing: “I am happy to announce that my focus for next year will entirely be on the DP World Tour, I have never resigned my membership and therefore I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to play a full schedule once again.”
Wiesberger’s return shows that there is a route back to the European circuit for LIV players should they be willing to pay the fines. However, it is understood that the likes of Westwood and Poulter would have to pay their own fines if they wanted to return because of the nature of their contracts, which came with hefty signing-on fees and a three-year commitment to the breakaway circuit. Yet this could change if the ongoing negotiations of a merger between the Saudi PIF – which 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.
An initial deadline for the merger deal to be agreed was set at December 31, although this may yet be extended.