Former Open champion Henrik Stenson could return to the DP World Tour next season after he was relegated from LIV Golf.
Stenson finished 49th in the limited-field league’s season-long standings in 2025 after a very underwhelming season and was subsequently relegated. He could have regained his status through the Asian Tour rankings or the LIV Qualifying event in the new year but he has applied for a return to the DP World Tour.
bunkered.co.uk reported that the Swede has settled his fines of over £1million to regain his membership of the DP World Tour and compete next season.
Stenson had been named as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain for the 2023 edition in Rome but was soon stripped of that honour after moving to LIV in 2022. Since competing on LIV he was hit with financial penalties for playing in conflicting events without permission from the DP World Tour.
Stenson isn’t the first big name to have finished in LIV Golf’s ‘Drop Zone’ but unlike in previous years where a reprieve was given most notably to Bubba Watson, the Saudi backed tour is hammering down on underperforming pros.
In a bid to appease the Official World Golf Ranking decision makers, LIV Golf chiefs said there would be no instant return for their relegated players and Stenson was pipped to the final survival spot by his Majesticks teammate Ian Poulter.
“Over the course of a career, you’re going to have good years, you’re going to have bad years,” Stenson said. “It’s part of professional sports. You’re going to have disappointment. You’re going to have good times.
“On this end, I had the worst season out of the team, and I’m the one in the worst spot. You’ve just got to deal with it and move forward.”
Stenson who won the Open in 2016 has not played on the DP World Tour since the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic and hasn’t made a competitive appearance worldwide since August.
Heading into the 2026 season, LIV announced that the PIF would stop paying the fines imposed on players meaning that any player wishing to be a member of the DP World Tour would have to cough up the fines themselves.
