DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley to leave role

DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley is quitting his role after eight and a half years to take up a job in his native Canada.

The 60-year-old's shock move comes as the DP World Tour remains in negotiations with the PGA Tour to form an alliance with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV Golf.

News of Pelley’s departure also emerged just a day after R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers announced he would step down from his role by the end of the year.

Pelley will become president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and MLS side Toronto FC.

Guy Kinnings, the current deputy chief executive and Ryder Cup executive director, will succeed Pelley from 2 April.

"It has been an incredible honour to be the chief executive of this wonderful institution for the past eight and a half years," Pelley said.

"When I came over from Canada back in 2015, I set out to create a culture of innovation and to grow our prize funds and our Tour for our members by ensuring that we appealed to new, younger and more diverse audiences.

"We have done that and so much more because our players, staff, partners, broadcasters and fans have all fundamentally bought into that philosophy that we are in the entertainment industry.

"This role with MLSE, and the chance to be involved with my hometown sports teams in Toronto, was the one opportunity that I simply could not resist."

Pelley’s time in charge of the DP World Tour is certain to divide opinion after he successfully guided the organisation through the Covid pandemic and then signed a "strategic alliance" with the PGA Tour in November 2020.

"This role with MLSE, and the chance to be involved with my hometown