LIV Golf Called A Threat By DP World Tour Chief Amid Rivalry Claims

LIV Golf may now be talking about working with other tours, but Ben Cowen remembers the relationship very differently. The DP World Tour chief said LIV was a direct rival that spent years going after its events, venues, sponsors and players.

Speaking to Golf Digest at the BMW PGA Championship, Cowen pushed back on LIV CEO Scott O'Neil's “complete, not compete” message. Cowen said the DP World Tour had spent the past five years protecting its business as LIV moved into areas that had long been important to the European tour.

Ben Cowen Says LIV Golf Was A Direct Rival To DP World Tour

Cowen's view is based on what he saw happen after LIV launched in 2022. LIV held its first London event at Centurion Club, around 40 minutes from the DP World Tour's home at Wentworth. It also later staged an event at Spain's Valderrama, another important European venue.

“For us, it very much felt like a competition and a threat from outside and we had to do what we could to try and protect our business,” Cowen told Golf Digest. He added, “Without a doubt, they were and are a competitor. I don't think anyone could say otherwise.”

The fight was not limited to courses. Cowen said LIV also approached events and sponsors connected to the DP World Tour. National opens became another concern, with the Australian Open among the events linked to LIV. The DP World Tour eventually kept the Australian Open through a partnership with the PGA Tour.

LIV Golf's Player Moves Added More Pressure

The player side made things even harder. Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter were among the major DP World Tour names who joined LIV. Stenson's move was especially notable because he was Europe's Ryder Cup captain at the time.

The tours also clashed over players competing in events that overlapped. Rahm and Hatton faced sanctions, while the DP World Tour offered certain conditions for LIV players to keep their membership. Rahm later reached an agreement with the tour in 2026, allowing him to keep playing under specific terms.

Now the picture has changed. LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund stopped funding the league beyond 2026. At the same time, the Asian Tour has moved closer to the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, with events such as the Hong Kong Open and Singapore Open set for stronger ties with Europe.

Cowen knows LIV is now speaking about cooperation, but his view comes from the years when the two sides were fighting for the same space in professional golf. His message was simple: whatever LIV calls the relationship today, the DP World Tour felt the pressure directly.