Former Ryder Cup star handed timely lifeline after losing LIV Golf place
Former Ryder Cup player Bernd Wiesberger has been welcomed back to the DP World Tour after his move to LIV Golf backfired. The Austrian, who peaked at No. 22 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), was booted out of the Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway tour after just two seasons.
The 38-year-old turned his back on the golf establishment last year and played in 22 LIV Events, winning more than $4 million in prize money, but he lost his place in the league at the end of this season. Wiesberger won eight times on the DP World Tour, but he failed to finish in the top 10 once in 2023.
He did enough to avoid automatic relegation by finishing outside of the bottom four in the 48-man standings, but a 41st place finish left him in an uncertain position. His two-season contract with LIV was up and his Cleeks Golf Club team declined to retain him.
Wiesberger’s only hope of securing a LIV roster spot for 2024 was at a qualifying event at Abu Dhabi next month, but instead he decided to reapply for DP World Tour membership. Wiesberger has settled his fines for joining the unsanctioned LIV and he will play on the Wentworth-based circuit in 2024.
“Bernd Wiesberger’s application for membership for the 2024 season has been accepted by the DP World Tour,” a DP World Tour spokesman said. “Wiesberger’s membership ceased, and he was removed from the Race to Dubai, after he failed to comply with the Tour’s minimum counting event regulation for the 2023 season, having played in only two counting tournaments – the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
“He subsequently expressed his desire to play a full DP World Tour schedule in 2024 and has fulfilled all sanctions – both financial and tournament suspensions – that were imposed upon him for breaches of the tour’s conflicting event regulation across 2022 and 2023. Consequently, his request for reinstatement has been granted by DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley, in accordance with the procedure set out in the Members’ Regulations.”
Wiesberger played for Europe during their humiliating 19-9 defeat to the Americans in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. His return to the DP World Tour means he is once again eligible to compete for a place in the revered team event.
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Wiesberger has slipped to 510th in the OWGR due to LIV’s lack of ranking points and he is eager to get back on the course and revitalize his career after a chastening couple of years.
“I am happy to announce that my focus for next year will entirely be on the DP World Tour. I have never resigned my membership and therefore I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to play a full schedule once again.
“Included in that will be the traditional national championships that are such a big part of the tour and where I have enjoyed some success in the past. I look forward to playing in those and, of course, getting started back in Dubai in January.”
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