A new partnership between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Asian Tour has reignited the debate over professional golf's future. Lee Westwood questioned what the deal means for the DP World Tour, but Michael S. Kim was not convinced by that argument.

The discussion began after the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Asian Tour announced a new multi-year partnership on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. The agreement started right away and will continue until at least 2029.

Under the deal, the top Asian Tour players will get a path to the DP World Tour starting in the 2027 season. The DP World Tour and Asian Tour will also co-sanction at least two events each year in 2027, 2028, and 2029.

Westwood, a longtime European Tour player and former LIV Golf member, responded to the announcement with concern. "From a business point of view, it can't be good for the European Tour to give your ten best players every year," Westwood said, per Today's Golfer on X. "The fans don't get to build up a relationship with the top players coming through on the European Tour, because they don't see them often enough, for long enough now."

He went further. "It's kind of one year, and then they're off. It's a short-term view, I think. The winners in it are the PGA Tour."

Kim, a PGA Tour player, responded to the clip on X on July 22. "Why do you think DP World Tour signed the deal?" he wrote. "You think they just signed a deal to let their ten best players go to the PGA Tour just cuz?"

Kim's comment suggested that the DP World Tour agreed to the deal by choice, so he did not see a reason for Westwood's concerns. But many golf fans did not agree with that view.

Golf fans soon joined the debate with mixed opinions.

Fans react as debate over golf's future grows

Kim's response sparked mixed reactions on X. Some fans backed the new partnership, calling it a positive step for professional golf, while others argued it could hurt tournaments in certain regions or took aim at the people involved in the debate.

One fan wrote, "Forgive me if I'm not excited about this move. This is at the expense of tournaments happening in 'out of the way' places like my home state of Michigan."

Another account supported the agreement, posting, "Wish PIF focused on the Asian Tour versus LIV. We could've gotten to this point a lot sooner."

Others welcomed the partnership. A fan called it "GREAT NEWS for golf," saying it would give more players like Ryan Fox, Elvis Smylie Jarvis and Lucas Herbert greater exposure and added that "Professional golf IS healing, and moving forward."

Not every response focused on the deal itself. One fan posted a personal criticism, calling one of the figures in the discussion a "Grand Slam Winner: For most insufferable douchebag hypocrite!" without adding further context.

Westwood's concern about the European Tour losing its best young players to the PGA Tour pathway remains a live debate. The new three-way deal does nothing to address it directly.

Do you think the new PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Asian Tour partnership is good for golf? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham