Asian Tour links up with PGA and DP World Tours in LIV blow
The Asian Tour has joined a new alliance with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, shifting global golf ties away from a key LIV partner.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
LIV Golf’s longtime Asian Tour connection took a hit Tuesday as the Asian Tour entered a new partnership with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, according to the Associated Press.
The three-tour deal begins immediately and runs through 2029, AP reported. The arrangement is designed to create new commercial and playing opportunities, while giving Asian Tour members a route toward status on European circuits.
The move brings the Asian Tour into the orbit of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, which already have their own alliance. That separate agreement includes a pathway for 10 leading DP World Tour players to earn PGA Tour cards, AP reported.
Officials from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour met during the Open Championship, according to AP. The Asian Tour deal, combined with the PGA Tour’s involvement with the Australian Open, is being viewed as movement toward a renewed arrangement between the American and European tours.
A turn away from LIV’s Asian foothold
The announcement lands hard for LIV Golf because of its existing relationship with the Asian Tour, which began before the Saudi-backed league launched in 2022.
AP reported that LIV put $300 million into the Asian Tour to build the International Series, a set of events with purses of up to $2 million. LIV players including Peter Uihlein, Carlos Ortiz and David Puig have won those tournaments.
The new deal also revives a previous link between the DP World Tour and the Asian Tour. The European circuit had an alliance with the Asian Tour from 2016 through 2021, but stopped co-sanctioning Asian Tour events in 2022, according to AP.
Under the new setup, at least two Asian Tour events are expected to be co-sanctioned in each of the next three years, AP reported. Details on Asian Tour access to DP World Tour and Challenge Tour events are still being finalized.
Cho Minn Thant, commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour, said the tour sees the timing as right to work with the DP World Tour and PGA Tour for the benefit of its members, fans and partners.
“Bringing the three tours together under one partnership will increase the bandwidth of the professional game in Asia,” Cho said, according to AP.
Cho added that co-sanctioned events would put Asian Tour members on a broader stage and allow players from the other tours to enter the Asian Tour’s biggest events.
Pressure builds around LIV
The deal comes as LIV faces fresh questions about its future. AP reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has backed LIV financially, has said it will stop funding the league after this season.
LIV CEO Scott O’Neil has been seeking investors to keep the circuit operating in 2027 and beyond, according to AP.
AP also reported that Canadian company Mobii Systems Group has sued LIV Golf in U.S. District Court in Miami, alleging unpaid fees of $925,100 tied to broadcast technology used for LIV’s “Any Shot, Any Time” feature. Mobii also claims $209,531 in lost revenue for the final six events of 2026.
ESPN reported that LIV technology executive Nick Connor told Mobii in a May 25 email that LIV would stop using the technology after its South Korea event ended May 31 while it reviewed its business model. The AP report did not include a response from LIV to Mobii’s allegations.
Christian Hardy, the PGA Tour’s senior vice president of international, called the new three-tour agreement an example of tours sharing a vision for professional golf’s future, AP reported. Rory McIlroy also welcomed the news on X, writing that it was “positive news” to see tours working together for international golf.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.