Nine LIV Golf players have taken up membership on the DP World Tour for 2025, with former Masters champion Sergio Garcia the biggest beneficiary.
Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm, Adrian Meronk, Dean Burmester, Joaquin Niemann, Thomas Pieters, Patrick Reed, and Lucas Herbert have been confirmed as members of the circuit formerly known as the European Tour for 2025.
Garcia is the only man on the list who did not play on the DP World Tour this season. The Spaniard resigned his membership in 2023 after an arbitration panel ruled in favor of the tour, confirming its right to punish players who competed in LIV Golf events without permission.
It was a move Garcia a founding member of the breakaway LIV league in 2022 would come to regret as he found himself locked out of the Ryder Cup. European players must be active members of the tour to be considered for selection.
Garcia, who has played in 10 Ryder Cups, holds the record for the most points in the events history with 28.5, with 25 wins against just 13 losses and seven ties. Aged 44, he remains an elite player, winning LIV Golf Andalucia in July and finishing third in the season-long order of merit.
But he was forced to watch from home as his former European allies defeated the Americans in Rome to regain the Ryder Cup 13 months ago. However, the 2017 Masters champion has reopened the door to play in the Ryder Cup again.
Patrick Reed is the only American player on LIV Golf with a DP World Tour membership (
(Image: Getty))
The DP World Tour has confirmed to Mirror U.S. Sports that Garcia has settled the more than $1 million fines he accrued for playing in LIV events. Garcia will have to serve an outstanding suspension before he can play on the DP World Tour again. It is not yet clear when he will be able to return to action again.
But by regaining his membership, Garcia is once again eligible to play in the Ryder Cup, and he has made no secret of his desire to be part of Luke Donalds team at Bethpage Black next fall.
He thinks he can play, Donald said in September. He wants to play. I dont think he has talked to me about being an assistant captain, but again, he would have to re-join the tour for him to be eligible.
Hes certainly very interested in doing that. He understands everything thats involved and again, the decision has to go to him whether hes prepared to do all that. But certainly, weve had that discussion.
There are ramifications for the American Ryder Cup team, too. Patrick Reed is the only American of the nine LIV players eligible to play on the DP World Tour next season, taking advantage of an exemption he earned by winning the Masters in 2019.
Reeds ability to play on the DP World Tour could give him the upper hand over some of his compatriots chasing Ryder Cup qualification who do not have the same benefits. Reed will be able to accrue world ranking points, something LIV events cannot offer, boosting his chances of playing in the majors and, in turn, playing his way onto Keegan Bradleys 12-man USA team.