Henrik Stenson is headed back to the DP World Tour after a four-year run as part of LIV Golf, where he was a co-captain of one of the teams but was relegated out of the league after a poor 2025 season.
The DP World Tour confirmed to Sports Illustrated that Stenson, 49, has paid his outstanding fines and is eligible to return after an undisclosed suspension. He will be exempt out of a Legends category.
The U.K. website bunkered.co.uk first reported the situation, which likely entailed LIV Golf taking care of more than $1 million in fines accumulated when he first joined the circuit in 2022. He has not played in a DP World Tour event since 2023.
Stenson, who won the 2016 British Open at Royal Troon in a memorable final-round duel with Phil Mickelson, saw his European Ryder Cup captaincy stripped in 2022 after he joined LIV Golf, winning his first event with the circuit. Luke Donald was named to replace him and has since twice captained the European side to victory.
The Swedish golfer has been a co-captain of the Majesticks team along with Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, who narrowly beat out Stenson for one of the remaining exempt spots in the league at the last individual event in Indianapolis in August. Stenson has not played anywhere since and it would appear he will not attempt to earn his place back in the league via its Promotions event in January.
An 11-time winner on the DP World Tour, Stenson also has six victories on the PGA Tour, which he is prohibited from playing for at least a year from the time of his final LIV appearance.
Stenson resigned his DP World Tour membership in 2023 after a U.K. arbitration panel ruled that the tour was within its rights to impose fines and suspensions for members who played in conflicting events without authorization.
Both Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton appealed those fines in September 2024, with a hearing date yet to be set. LIV Golf has said that it will no longer pay fines after this year.
