Golf's LIV civil war deepens as Paul McGinley is SLAMMED on Twitter

Golf’s LIV civil war deepens as Paul McGinley is SLAMMED on Twitter by a fellow DP World Tour player, who tells the former Ryder Cup captain ‘don’t speak on behalf of all the membership’ after he claimed ‘nobody wants LIV players on our tour’

  • There are 17 LIV golfers playing the DP World Tour event at Wentworth this week
  • Paul McGinley said that the LIV players are not wanted at DP tournaments 
  • Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, a DP player, slated McGinley’s remarks on Twitter

Golf’s civil war deepened on Sunday with Spanish golfer Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano hitting out at former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley for saying DP World Tour players don’t want to play with LIV Golf members.

Fernandez-Castano plays on the DP World Tour, the circuit which will see 17 LIV players competing in the PGA Championship at Wentworth this week. 

McGinley, meanwhile, is now a board member on the DP World Tour after a career that saw him win the Ryder Cup six times as a player, vice-captain and captain.

Ahead of Wentworth, McGinley gave an interview to the Sunday Times where he claimed ‘not one (DP World Tour player) wants the LIV guys in our tournaments.’

But that doesn’t appear to be quite true. Fernandez-Castano reacted to McGinley’s words on Twitter on Sunday, retweeting an image of McGinley’s interview with that quote captioned, saying: ‘Please don’t speak on behalf of all the membership @mcginleygolf.

‘I have no problem whatsoever with the @LIVGolf players playing on the @DPWorldTour.’

Paul McGinley has been criticized by a fellow DP World Tour player his LIV Golf remarks

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano said he has no problem with LIV players at DP Tour events 

Fernandez-Castano told McGinley on Twitter not to speak for all the players on the DP Tour

Fernandez-Castano was retweeted by Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, two of the leading golfers to have signed up to the Saudi-backed LIV circuit. 

It remains to be seen if McGinley responds to Fernandez-Castano on Twitter but he made his feelings unequivocally clear in his Times interview.

‘It breaks my heart because I have an emotional connection with every one of those (LIV) players,’ McGinley said. ‘I will see (Ian) Poulter and I’ll shake his hand at Wentworth, the same with Westwood and all of those guys that I shared team rooms with. That bond will never be broken. But you know, definitely, we’re on different sides now. 

‘The key to the anger felt by the ordinary, non-LIV members of the DP World Tour is that these guys who’ve taken the big money from LIV think they’re entitled to come back and take the places of players who support our tour week-in, week-out 

‘The LIV players don’t turn up for €2 or €3 million tournaments in the Czech Republic or Switzerland, but they come for the £6 million tournament at Wentworth. This has led to a lot of resentment. Keith [Pelley – DP World Tour CEO] has spoken to virtually every one of our players. Not one wants the LIV guys in our tournaments.’

Wentworth starts on Thursday in England with Rory McIlroy, one of the most ardent LIV critics, the leading player in the field. 

Players such as Lee Westwood (second left) and Ian Poulter (second right) play the LIV Tour

Rory McIlroy, like McGinley, has been a fierce critic of the impact of LIV on the game of golf

McIlroy has also criticized the LIV players returning for a DP event, saying last week: ‘I hate what it’s (LIV) doing to the game of golf. I hate it. I really do. 

‘It’s going to be hard for me to stomach going to Wentworth in a couple of weeks’ time and seeing 18 of them there. That just doesn’t sit right with me.’

US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick echoed McIlroy’s sentiments, saying: ‘It’s going to be odd seeing certain people, obviously, at Wentworth. T

‘That is going to be a bit weird, and obviously it’s a little bit disappointing. But they won their little thing.

‘It’s going to be interesting to see what happens. Obviously they’re [the DP World Tour] not quite in as strong a position as the PGA Tour are in terms of regulations or whatever it is. Yeah, I guess we’ll just have to see how it plays out.’

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