The cheek of the man! Just who does Charles Howell III think he is?
The American is the latest to walk away from LIV Golf and has announced that he sees his future on the DP World Tour.
A few facts about Howell III – he is 47 years old, he has won three times on the PGA Tour, has pocketed more than $40m in prize money on the PGA Tour and made 609 starts. He played in the recent Dunhill Links Championship. It was his second regular DP World Tour appearance. Ever!
Thomas Pieters has also announced that he intends to follow a similar route. The Belgian is 34 years old, has won six times on the DP World Tour. He has made 201 starts on the DP World Tour.
I know which one I would rather see coming back. However, neither player has any status and that means that they will first need to come through qualifying before they can tee it up next season.
(Image Credit: LIV Golf)
I am not going to mince my words here – I am extremely unhappy about all these LIV players looking at the DP World Tour as an easy option.
Former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen has announced his intention to return in. 2027. Unlike Pieters and Howell III, he will not have to go through qualifying. The same applies to the likes of Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, David Puig and many others.
Thomas Detry was one of the first to make it abundantly clear that he expected to have to prove his worth before returning, and that means a willingness to go through qualifying.
Sergio Garcia says he wants to be a part of Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team, next year and has dropped hints about wanting to be considered as a future Ryder Cup captain. This from a man who not so long ago dismissed the DP World Tour as a second-rate outfit barely fit for purpose.
And now we also have Ian Poulter, Tom McKibbin and Tyrrell Hatton jumping ship.
Poulter joined LIV when it launched in 2022, while Hatton signed up in 2024.
Poulter, 50, said he wants to help his two sons, Luke and Joshua, pursue professional careers, as well as develop his YouTube channel.
He said: “I wanted everyone to hear it direct from me that I have decided to not move forward with being part of LIV 2.0. Needless to say, it was a tough decision and one I thought about and discussed at length with my family and team.
“Ultimately, the opportunity to spend more time at home with my family, reduce international travel, focus on senior golf and have the opportunity to pursue other interests was something that I felt was right for me at this stage of my life and career.”
Hatton, 35, simply confirmed that he will also be leaving in a brief Instagram statement. He wrote: “Wanted to confirm I will not be part of a LIV 2.0. A big thank you to everyone for their continued support. I am excited for what the next chapter of my career holds.”
And McKibbin confirmed that he intends to play a full DP World Tour schedule in 2027.
You may well wonder what all the fuss is about.
Well, let’s imagine that Howell fails to gain his card (as I expect him to do), as a former PGA Tour winner you can bet your bottom dollar that he will be extended sponsors’ invitations. And he will not be the only one.
When you throw in the appearances that Rahm, Hatton, Puig et al will expect to make it all adds up to one thing – it will be at the expense of young players trying to make their way in the game.
And I am sorry, but that just cannot be right. Last season we saw some outstanding golf from Martin Couvra, who was named rookie of the year. My argument is that players such as Couvra represent the future of our sport. It is entirely wrong that golfers who headed off to collect the Saudi dollar should now expect to pay some fines and pick up their careers as if nothing had happened.
Eddie Pepperell has an interesting take on it – and one I fully agree with.
He said that he has discussed the situation with CEO Guy Kinnings and made his views clear: He wrote on social media: “Who do we invite back and what might their impact be? I’ve spoken to Guy on this very issue, back in the summer. I won’t betray any confidence on his side but my view was pretty simple, give a few players invites who undeniably add stardust. The Joaquin Niemanns of the world, Cam Smith, Bryson of course. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have their exemptions. Truthfully from my perspective not much else needed to be done, just ensure everybody else goes back to the qualifying school. The idea that Charles Howell III is on this list, with all due respect to Charles – he’s a terrific guy – is utterly bizarre.
“That represents a miscalculation to me, along frankly with additional names like Thomas Pieters, Branden Grace and even Louis Oosthuizen. None of these players are going to put enough bums on seats or in front of TVs to materially improve the balance sheet in 2027, period.”
And that is the point – how many of these guys actually bring something to the table other than a desire to milk the tour?