First reported by The Guardian’s Ewan Murray, it is believed that Porsche, who sponsors the European Open that gets underway in early June, may pull their backing from the tournament. This comes after it was announced by the DP World Tour that there would be sanctions imposed on LIV players which means they won’t be featuring in any of their future tournaments.
Reportedly, it is the sanctions around Paul Casey, who is sponsored by the car manufacturer, and Martin Kaymer, one of Germany’s most successful golfers, that have raised doubts over whether Porsche will continue backing the tournament in Hamburg, something they have done since 2015 .
In the report by The Guardian, a spokesperson for Porsche stated that: “We heard about the individual sanctions of the Tour against players. But as those are individual we do not know, so far, what this means exactly to each player and are in contact with the Tour and the managements.”
Along with the statement, the spokesperson went on to add that “the Porsche European Open is a great event. We are in discussions about the future of the event with the promoter and the Tour.”
It’s not just Casey and Kaymer who have been given sanctions, with the DP World Tour confirming that fines and suspensions have been issued to 26 players for going against conflicting event releases and playing in LIV Golf and LIV-backed Asian Tour events.
The fines are on a case-by-case basis and range from £25,000-£100,000 for each individual breach, the DP World Tour explains, with the suspensions reaching a maximum of eight tournaments, starting with the $2 million Porsche European Open.
Because of the sanctions being imposed, many players and legends of the circuit have given up their memberships, with Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood quitting recently, as well as former European Ryder Cup captain, Henrik Stenson, who stated that: “They left me with no other choice so I have resigned.”