Though LIV gamers had been banned from the PGA Tour, they may nonetheless play in some DP World Tour occasions, which Westwood felt gave them some “leverage” however “now LIV’s out [of] the way in which, they’ve misplaced that”.
Nevertheless, in July the American and European excursions prolonged their strategic alliance, which incorporates Annual Funding Funds (AIPs). Final yr that determine was £59m.
The PGA Tour additionally offers tour playing cards to the highest 10 finishers on the DP World Tour who will not be already members, however Westwood believes “there are loads of questions nonetheless to be answered” relating to the brand new phrases of their alliance.
“If [the DP World Tour] need to proceed having the PGA Tour bankrolling them, there are going to be some huge asks from the PGA Tour,” Westwood added.
“If I used to be [chief executive] Brian Rolapp operating the PGA Tour, I might be taking part in hardball and making loads of calls for of the European tour in the event that they anticipated me to finance it going ahead.”
A spokesperson for the DP World Tour instructed BBC Sport that it stays in “a strong and wholesome place with robust money reserves”.
“Such progress is outstanding coming, because it did, in opposition to the backdrop of havoc within the world golf market attributable to an entity which took prize funds to an artificially excessive stage and on the again of what has been confirmed to be a completely unsustainable financial mannequin working inside a false economic system,” a spokesperson mentioned.
“We stay up for the 2027 season and past for a lot of causes – not least as a result of the participant curiosity in competing on our tour has by no means been stronger.”
Westwood didn’t decide to LIV 2.0, because it was identified, and is at present “unemployed” as he considers his future however must serve a 10-tournament suspension if he opted to rejoin the DP World Tour.
The PGA Tour describes the Korn Ferry Tour as its “premier pathway”, with 20 playing cards on provide, and introduced a brand new aggressive construction in June with a Championship Collection and a lower-tier Challenger Collection.
The Championship Collection will function a “restricted sequence” of occasions co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, which has thus far introduced the prize fund for only one occasion in 2027 – the Hero Dubai Desert Basic in January.
“The PGA Tour put this ‘plan for the long run’ in place and the DP World Tour shouldn’t be talked about a complete lot in that,” mentioned Westwood.
“[Rolapp has] already mentioned that the Korn Ferry Tour goes to be the primary route into the PGA Tour, which makes me assume ‘what is going on to occur to the DP World Tour?’
“I do not assume the DP World Tour has introduced any prize funds for subsequent yr, which is barely worrying, and what is going to prize funds seem like from 2028 onwards? There are loads of questions nonetheless to be answered in that strategic alliance partnership.”
