Power struggle overshadows DP World Tour's most cherished event

The bitter power struggle shaking golf to its core will continue in front of packed galleries at this week's BMW PGA Championship with players on both sides of the divide battling it out on the lush Wentworth fairways.

A stellar field has assembled for the DP World Tour's (formerly European Tour) blue riband tournament near London, but some of the most familiar faces could receive a frosty welcome, on and off the course.

Seventeen players who have jumped ship to the breakaway LIV Tour will tee it up at Wentworth, including Ryder Cup stalwarts such as Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia.

The Saudi Arabia-backed LIV series, headed by Greg Norman and offering mind-boggling prize pots, kicked off to much fanfare near London in June and earned winner Charl Schwartzel a record cheque of $4 million.

It has steadily added quality to its roster, with Open champion Cameron Smith the latest marque name to jump ship and join the likes of Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, and is clearly posing a serious threat to golf's status quo.

The powerful PGA Tour has already banned those taking part in LIV events but the attempts of Europe's DP World Tour to follow suit have so far been unsuccessful with LIV players still eligible to compete at its showcase events pending a court hearing next year.

It means five-time major champion Rory McIlroy, one of the fiercest critics of the LIV Tour, will come face to face with some of his former buddies this week at Wentworth when the conversations might be interesting to say the least.

"I hate what it's doing to the game of golf," the Northern Irishman said of LIV recently, adding that it would be "hard to stomach" playing alongside them at Wentworth.

"That just doesn't sit right with me,"