Say it with us: DJ World Tour.
That’s right. Dustin Johnson — he of the shiny-new, nine-figure LIV Golf Series contract — has applied for membership on the DP World Tour in the wake of his decision to resign from the PGA Tour and subsequent suspension, per a Telegraph (U.K.) report published last Friday.
For months, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and his DP counterpart, Keith Pelley, shared in their disdain for pro golf rebellion. They were aligned in their intention to ban defectors. But thus far, Pelley has refrained from handing out discipline.
The Euro circuit’s erstwhile CEO hasn’t made any public appearances. He doesn’t have players the caliber of Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas to do his bidding for him. And in the absence of any show of strength from Pelley, some truly alarming theories are gathering momentum.
I am hearing chatter that there is a possibility of DP World Tour aligning with LIV Tour.
If that happens, it would be a seismic shift in professional golf.
Obviously there is so much swirling at the moment and nothing is set in stone.
— Lou Stagner (Golf Stat Pro) (@LouStagner) June 11, 2022
“I am hearing chatter that there is a possibility of DP World Tour aligning with LIV Tour,” tweeted the well-connected Lou Stagner, the data insights lead at Arccos Golf. “If that happens, it would be a seismic shift in professional golf. Obviously there is so much swirling at the moment and nothing is set in stone.”
Could DJ be the first big domino to fall in LIV Golf’s battle for legitimacy? Time will tell. But it’s clear that the time for arrogance and tough talk from Ponte Vedra Beach has passed. The PGA Tour needs real solutions to combat a threat that gets thornier by the day.
