With LIV Golf seemingly on its last legs, rival tours are treating its roster like open season. The DP World Tour has told players they must choose between its events and LIV in 2027, and several LIV players are now reportedly eyeing a return to the circuit. This, however, has caused a fiery debate over exactly who deserves a welcome back.

At the center of this latest storm is 47-year-old Charles Howell III, a player whose potential European pivot has sparked intense pushback from both analysts and loyal European Tour veterans.

During a recent podcast, golf analyst Kevin Van Valkenburg highlighted how strange it is for the DP World Tour to entertain Howell as a marquee addition. Howell has practically zero track record on the European circuit. Before his appearance at this year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, he had played just one DP World Tour event outside the majors and WGC events in his 26-year career.

“I found it to be utterly insane that the DP World Tour would entertain Charles Howell III as a draw,” Van Valkenburg noted. 

That sentiment was also echoed by long-time DP World Tour pro Joost Luiten, per Valkenburg. The six-time European Tour winner expressed deep frustration at the idea of LIV defectors returning with their former privileges intact. Luiten pointed out the stark reality of the players’ initial departures when the Saudi-backed league first launched.

He argued that it should be harder for players to return. “Four years ago they didn’t give a s*** about the DP World Tour,” Luiten stated. He went on to say that they chased the money, and now that it might be gone, they expect to return as if nothing occurred.

Luiten firmly believes that players who surrendered their memberships should lose all prior exemption rights. He suggested a much harsher reality check for returning athletes, saying that if they believe they are good enough, they should have to go to Q-School and beat other players, just like everyone else.

However, the backlash is not necessarily a blanket condemnation of all LIV roster members. Van Valkenburg pointed out that players like Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton belong in an entirely different category because they have actively paid their fines and fulfilled their DP World Tour event quotas to maintain membership. 

There is also a level of grace afforded to European legends like Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, who spent decades supporting the tour before making their exits. 

But for a player like Howell, who showed no interest in supporting the DP World Tour throughout his career until he needed a safety net, the patience of the golfing community has run remarkably thin.

As Van Valkenburg plainly summarized the situation for players expecting easy returns, some of them just “need to go kick rocks.”

LIV crisis fuels confusion around Crushers GC members

Howell’s sudden interest in the DP World Tour is a direct reflection of the broader crisis currently unfolding at LIV Golf. With reports confirming that the Saudi Public Investment Fund has withdrawn support for the league this season, the viability of a LIV 2.0 format looks incredibly bleak. This lack of funding has led to established teams fracturing and major stars heading for the exit.

A prime example of this fallout is the breakup of Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC. Paul Casey and Anirban Lahiri have not officially left LIV Golf, but neither is committing to LIV 2.0.

“The situation is very dynamic. A lot of things going on. It’s hard for me to comment on it, also because, you know, it’s a matter of seeing how the processes work out,” Lahiri said about his LIV future.

However, the two pros have started competing in other events, such as the Omega European Masters and Link Hong Kong Open. Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau is among the players whose LIV contracts were reportedly not carried over.

But with Howell recently jumping ship, the Crushers GC lineup has all but dissolved, for now. While DeChambeau explores his own paths forward, his former teammates are actively scrambling to secure new playing opportunities.

This trend highlights exactly why European Tour loyalists are so frustrated, as the returning players are only seeking a spot on traditional circuits because the lucrative alternative they originally chose is now falling apart.