Porsche may withdraw backing after DP World Tour suspends LIV Golf rebels

The DP World Tour is on a possible collision course with one of its tournament sponsors after suspensions handed to LIV rebels ruled Paul Casey and Martin Kaymer out of next month’s European Open in Hamburg.

Both former Ryder Cup players had entered the event; Casey is an ambassador for Porsche, the title sponsor, while the double major champion Kaymer remains one of Germany’s most high-profile sportsmen. There are serious doubts over whether the German luxury car manufacturer will continue its backing of the tournament, which began in 2015.

Casey and Kaymer were among 26 golfers hit with sanctions, including tournament suspensions and fines ranging from £12,500 to £100,000, on Thursday after not being granted releases to play on the LIV circuit while members of the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour. A sports arbitration panel ruled in April that the Tour was well within its rights to issue such penalties.

The fines are expected to largely be paid, partly on the basis that some of the golfers involved may want to return to the DP World Tour in the future. However, the suspension element – and particularly its timing – carries broader ramifications. “The total cumulative suspension imposed on any single player for breaches in the period 22 June 2022, to 2 April 2023 is a maximum of eight Tour tournaments, comprising a combination of one- or two-week suspensions,” read a Tour statement. “The suspensions imposed relate to regular season Tour events [ie excluding major championships] and will run consecutively, effective from the Porsche European Open from 1-4 June 2023 – the first tournament chronologically on the Tour schedule whose entry list remains open.”

When that list closes next Thursday, Casey and Kaymer