Padraig Harrington fears LIV series poses threat to future of DP World Tour

A number of the world’s top names have defied sanctions from the established tours to sign up for the lucrative Saudi-backed circuit, which stages its second tournament in Portland, Oregon this week.

Harrington, the newly-crowned US Senior Open champion, believes the American-based PGA Tour is strong enough to survive the loss of these leading players but is less sure how its European counterpart will fare.

The Irishman said: “I feel for the European Tour because there’s definitely room for two tours, there’s no doubt about it, but is there room for more?

“It looks like the European Tour is the one who could come under pressure and be squeezed.

“LIV looks like it’s going to be here to stay. In three, four, five years’ time, all of this could be very normalised, and there could be the US Tour and the LIV Tour contending for the hearts and minds of the players.

“Let’s hope that the European Tour can keep up. We do need a very strong European Tour.”

One of the strongest draw cards the DP World Tour can offer European players is the opportunity to participate in the Ryder Cup.

Harrington, who captained Europe in last year’s loss to the United States at Whistling Straits, is not yet sure what impact the split in the game could have on the biennial contest.

The 50-year-old said: “If there are two big tours it seems to be good for the majors – the only time the best players would play (each other) is in the majors.

“That served the Ryder Cup really well over the years in the sense of a rivalry between Europe and the US.

“If I go back to when I played in ’99, I didn’t know the US players whereas now we all play the same tournaments, so we’re all quite friendly.

“It could add spice to the Ryder Cup, but I don’t know how that’s