The DP World Tour‘s chief tournament and operations officer isn’t buying LIV Golf’s new pitch that it wants to “complete, not compete” with the rest of professional golf.

Ben Cowen, DP World Tour’s chief tournament and operations officer, speaking to Golf Digest, described five years of watching LIV target the DP World Tour’s own events, venues and sponsors. “For us, it very much felt like a competition and a threat from outside and we had to do what we could to try and protect our business,” Cowen said. Asked directly whether LIV was ever a rival, his answer was blunt: “Without a doubt, they were and are a competitor. I don’t think anyone could say otherwise. If they say they weren’t, that’s an interesting take on it.”

Cowen’s complaint went well beyond player poaching. “It was a constant battle for the last five years with [LIV] going after events that were on our schedule, going after venues that were on our schedule, going after sponsors that were part of our schedule as well,” he said. 

Cowen said the DP World Tour spent a lot of time asking its partners to stay with the tour. He pointed to its global TV coverage, its path for players to reach the PGA Tour, and its more than 50 years of history as the European Tour. One clear example was close to the DP World Tour’s headquarters.

LIV Golf London started at Centurion Club in 2022, just around 40 minutes from Wentworth, the DP World Tour’s home. LIV later held an event at Valderrama, one of Spain’s most famous golf courses. For Cowen, these were not just new golf events. He felt LIV was moving into places that had been important to the DP World Tour for many years.

National opens became another area of concern. Cowen said there were repeated reports that events, including the Australian Open, could move toward LIV. “There were a lot of rumors that a lot of national opens, including Australia, were going to go with LIV,” he said. “It was great when we were able to announce [the Australian Open] continuing with us in partnership with the PGA Tour. That’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of time and effort.”

He also said it was frustrating to see LIV approach these national opens, although he admitted it also showed that LIV valued the events the DP World Tour had built.

LIV also took several major names from the DP World Tour’s player pool. Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter all joined the Saudi-backed league. Stenson’s move created an especially difficult situation because he was Europe’s Ryder Cup captain at the time. He was later removed from the role.

The DP World Tour’s rules on conflicting events then became another major issue. 

LIV players were fined and suspended when they played in events that clashed with DP World Tour tournaments without permission. Rahm and Hatton were two of the biggest cases. Rahm appealed his sanctions in 2023 instead of paying them.

This allowed him to keep playing DP World Tour events while the dispute continued.

He also helped Europe win the 2025 Ryder Cup. By March 2026, his fines were reportedly as high as $3 million. The tour also required LIV players to play at least six DP World Tour events if they wanted permission to play in clashing LIV events. Rahm then accused the tour of “extorting players like myself, and young players that have nothing to do with the politics of the game.”

The fight between the two tours was not only about public comments. They also held talks.

In August 2024, LIV officials met with the DP World Tour and offered to help clear the fines owed by LIV players. LIV also offered to change its schedule to avoid clashes with DP World Tour events, put around £6 million into DP World Tour prize money, and give DP World Tour players a way to enter Asian Tour International Series events. The DP World Tour rejected the offer and said it wanted to find a bigger solution that could help everyone in golf.

Rahm’s dispute with the DP World Tour lasted longer than most. In May 2026, he reached an agreement with the tour. He agreed to pay his unpaid fines from 2024 onward and play a set number of DP World Tour events for the rest of the season.

In return, he could receive permission to play LIV events that clashed with the DP World Tour schedule. The deal also kept him eligible for the 2027 Ryder Cup.

LIV’s position changed sharply this September when the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew its financial support.

The PGA Tour has also said it is not currently planning a special program for former LIV players who want to return. That could make the DP World Tour an important route for LIV players who want to play more regular golf outside the league.

At the same time, the DP World Tour has been strengthening its links with the Asian Tour and PGA Tour. LIV’s four-year partnership with the Asian Tour’s International Series has now ended. Several major events are also moving closer to the DP World Tour, including the Hong Kong Open and Singapore Open, which are set to be co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour from 2027.

Asian Tour CEO Cho Minn Thant said the changes came after LIV’s funding problems and the need for more stability. He also made it clear that the Asian Tour still valued its relationship with LIV.

LIV CEO Scott O’Neil has recently said the league wants to help complete the global golf picture rather than compete directly with other tours. Cowen’s view of the past five years is very different. He said the DP World Tour felt LIV was competing for its events, venues, sponsors, and players, forcing the tour to spend years protecting its business.

The situation now looks very different. LIV is dealing with bankruptcy and an uncertain future, while the DP World Tour is building stronger links with other parts of professional golf. But Cowen made it clear that, from the DP World Tour’s point of view, LIV was a direct rival during those years and that the tour had to treat it as a serious threat.