Harrington: Sanctions for don't go far enough

LENIENT: Padraig Harrington. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Padraig Harrington claims players on the DP World Tour feel that bans and fines imposed on those counterparts who have thrown their lot in with LIV Golf don’t go nearly far enough.

However, the former Ryder Cup captain followed that by expressing the opinion that any punishment should stop short of those same players being prevented from playing golf’s four majors.

The ongoing controversy over the new, Saudi-backed tour has only heightened with the move by 16 LIV players to threaten the DP Tour with legal action unless sanctions imposed on them by the latter body are rescinded.

DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley responded to that by taking issue with the players’ claims to “care deeply” about what was previously known as the European Tour, and added that one player who had committed to playing in Mount Juliet this week was instead playing at the LIV event in Portland.

Harrington came off the course in Kilkenny after shooting a second round of level par to be shown a copy of Pelley’s statement and his first reaction was one of confusion as to why any of this was being considered news in the first place.

“Honestly, I read the statement but my head is a mess. From what I briefly read, I thought all this was known. I didn’t realise this was new news. I thought this was three, four weeks ago news. I thought this was certainly expected and known…” 

The Dubliner reiterated previous statements in stressing that he had nothing against those he considers to be friends who took the LIV offer, that the new tour was probably here to stay and that the US PGA and DP tours were now starting to concentrate on their own back yards instead.

“I think it’s good for golf, that competition and other tours, and I think there is room for it too. I don’t have a problem with that. I do know that everybody who went, they might have wished something different but they would have expected this.

“From my perspective, from a general perspective, the players who haven’t gone but could have gone feel the sanctions haven’t gone far enough. Hundred per cent. The European players would feel the sanctions haven’t gone far enough but I wouldn’t want them to be ever banned from playing majors.”