(Reuters) – The DP World Tour has threatened Spain’s Sergio Garcia with “appropriate action” after he failed to pay a 100,000 pound ($126,000) fine imposed by a sports arbitration panel within 30 days for playing in a LIV Golf event.
The DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, last month won its legal battle to be able to suspend and fine LIV Golf players who competed in conflicting events without permission.
Seventeen players, including Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, were each fined 100,000 pounds – a sanction imposed in July 2022 and upheld last month by an independent UK-based panel for sports resolutions.
“The DP World Tour today confirmed that 16 out of 17 players have paid their fines which were imposed for serious breaches of the Tour’s Conflicting Tournament Regulation last June,” the DP World Tour said in a statement on Thursday.
“Sergio Garcia has not paid his £100,000 fine, nor has he given any indication that he intends to. We will therefore take appropriate action if he continues not to respect the Sport Resolutions panel’s decision,” the statement said.
Garcia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The tour added that it would next week announce further sanctions for players who breached the regulations.
Garcia, the 2017 Masters Champion, along with Poulter, Westwood and Richard Bland resigned their DP World Tour memberships on Wednesday, becoming ineligible for this year’s Ryder Cup.
($1 = 0.7931 pounds)
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
