LIV Golfer uses special loophole to make DP World Tour return and end 26-month absence
Paul Casey has used a sponsorship exemption to enter the field for the Singapore Classic to mark his first return to the DP World Tour since he joined LIV Golf.
The 46-year-old is one of the most successful players in DP World Tour history having won 15 times in his career – just two less than Rory McIlroy.
But he packed in his European tour card to join LIV Golf in the summer of 2022 and he hasn’t been back since.
Casey took a swipe at the DP World Tour for ‘changing the goal posts’ when players were fined for playing on the LIV Golf series shortly after he signed for LIV Golf.
“What happened earlier this year, I wasn’t a part of it, but fines being handed out for playing without a release,” he said at the time.
“I’ve played many a tournament without a release and was never fined, and suddenly the goalposts are changing.”
Players like Casey aren’t banned from playing on the DP World Tour like on the PGA Tour.
LIV Golf star Joaquin Niemann has used exemptions already to play on the DP World Tour, which has ultimately helped him earn an invite to this year’s Masters.
And Casey is now set to make his return to the DP World Tour later this month for the Singapore Classic.
The event’s title sponsor is car manufacturer Porsche, who also have an association with Casey dating back to the 2020 US Open.
The Singapore event didn’t have a title sponsor until January this year when Porsche signed a multi-year deal with the tournament.
Casey has only played in two non-LIV events since joining the Saudi-backed league, both of which came on the Asian Tour.
There still isn’t a pathway for LIV Golfers to play on the PGA Tour, meaning the likes of Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are unable to play in the Players Championship this week.
The prestigious event at TPC Sawgrass is regularly seen as the ‘fifth major’, but the lack of some of golf’s best players has weakened the field.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler doesn’t begrudge those who have left to join LIV for millions, but insists they are at fault for causing the ‘splintering’ in professional golf.
He said: “At the end of the day, I think we’re trying to do our best to create the best product for the fans, but we can’t control whether or not guys want to leave.
“If guys want to go take the money and leave, then that’s their decision.
“I’m not going to sit here and tell guys not to take hundreds of millions of dollars.
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“If that’s what they think is best for their life, then go do it. I’m not going to sit here and force guys to stay on our Tour.
“But at the end of the day, this is where I want to be, and we’re continuing to grow what we’re doing, and what they’re doing is not really a concern to me.
“If the fans are upset, then look at the guys that left. We had a TOUR, we were all together, and the people that left are no longer here. At the end of the day, that’s where the splintering comes from.
“As far as our Tour goes, like I said, we’re doing our best to create the best product for the fans, and that’s really where we’re at.”