LIV Exile Wiesberger Returns To DP World Tour
Bernd Wiesberger has spent the past two seasons playing on the LIV Golf tour but he is now back as a DP World Tour member.
The Austrian will have a Category 11 membership for the 2024 season – 'the top 40 Members on the 2023 Career Money List who meet less than four of the additional qualifying criteria for this Category – which is ahead of those who have just qualified from the Challenge Tour and Q School.
Wiesberger finished 41st on the LIV standings and he hasn't had his contract renewed by Cleeks GC who are captained by Martin Kaymer and will have Richard Bland still in their line-up. However Wiesberger has now gone and Graeme McDowell is yet to have his contract renewed though he is expected to remain with LIV as he didn't apply for reinstatement before last week’s DP World Tour deadline.
So the Ryder Cup has decided not to try and play his way back into the league where three spots are available at next month's LIV Golf Promotions event and head home.
A DP World Tour statement read: "He has fulfilled all sanctions – both financial and tournament suspensions - that were imposed upon him for breaches of the Tour’s conflicting event regulation across 2022 and 2023. Consequently, his request for reinstatement has been granted by DP World Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley, in accordance with the procedure set out in the Members’ Regulations.”
The 38-year-old, who played on the 2021 Ryder Cup team and was in Rome as a fan, has won eight times and was third on the money list in 2019 but his form over the three-round format has been patchy at best with a best finish of 11th. The last time that he played on the DP World Tour was at the start of the year when he featured in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
In a statement of his own Wiesberger, a popular figure on the tour, explained that he was looking forward to his return and getting going in the New Year.