SerpApi.Org
The Asian Tour has ended its five-year partnership with LIV Golf. They have signed a landmark deal with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour instead.
The man best placed to comment on that shift is Travis Smyth, the Asian Tour’s No. 1 player, a LIV reserve. He is also someone who benefits from both sides of the arrangement.
Smyth spoke to bunkered ahead of his start at JCB Golf & Country Club this week. That’s where he is filling in for Elvis Smylie at Ripper GC at LIV UK. The Australian currently leads both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and the International Series Rankings, having won in Japan earlier this season.
His take on the deal was measured. “The Asian Tour has been in a weird position where they’re waiting to hear what’s going to happen with LIV,” Smyth said to bunkered. “I guess for the future of the [Asian] tour, the PGA Tour must have offered them a pretty good deal that they couldn’t refuse. So for the longevity of the tour, it probably makes the most sense that they’ve gone with the PGA Tour.”
The Asian Tour’s earlier partnership with LIV was supported by money from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). When the PIF decided not to keep funding LIV after the 2026 season, the Asian Tour faced a difficult situation.
Its new agreement with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour will bring back co-sanctioned events in 2027 as part of a new Strategic Alliance.
Smyth stands to gain personally. He earned DP World Tour status after winning the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. “I’ve got DP [World Tour] status for next year, and I guess now I can play two for one with the co-sanction events in Asia [and the DP World Tour] to get money up on both tours. So for me, in my position, it’s a good thing.”
The deal’s implications stretch well beyond Smyth’s personal situation.
What the deal means for LIV Future
The deal, announced July 21 and running through at least 2029, includes at least two co-sanctioned events between the Asian Tour and DP World Tour per year starting in 2027.
Top-performing Asian Tour players will earn access to the DP World Tour or its feeder circuit, the HotelPlanner Tour. Once on the DP World Tour, players can then compete for one of 10 PGA Tour cards available via the Strategic Alliance.
The move leaves LIV without the secondary circuit it has relied on for five seasons. In 2022, LIV committed $300 million to the Asian Tour to create the International Series, a set of marquee events with purses of up to $2 million that provided pathways onto LIV.
Five International Series events remain in 2026, but the Asian Tour is not expected to renew its deal with LIV after this season.
Smyth still hopes LIV finds a place in the broader ecosystem. “Oh, I hope there is,” he said of a future role for the circuit. “If [players] can’t play anywhere else, with only 10 events, you could easily see some guys wanting to leave.” LIV declined to comment when approached by bunkered.co.uk on the Asian Tour’s decision.
What do you think about the Asian Tour’s move away from LIV Golf? Let us know in the comments!
