LIV Golf's Lee Westwood, Richard Bland Denied Entry to Senior British Open

Westwood and Bland were fined by the DP World Tour for joining LIV, and its apparently impacted their application to play the Senior Open.

When is the the Senior Open not an "Open?"

There are still details to be worked out, so perhaps the expected peace that will be part of the alliance between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia will take some time.

A day after the shocking partnership was announced, both Lee Westwood and Richard Bland—both of whom play for LIV Golf—had their application denied to the Senior Open Championship, to be played next month at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.

Westwood, who recently turned 50, would have been among the headline players along with defending champion Darren Clarke.

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But due to outstanding fines from the DP World Tour related to playing in LIV Golf events, neither player is eligible.

"I wasn’t aware that people that played in the Senior Open had to be a member of a Tour?" Westwood said in a text. “I thought that’s why it is 'Open.'"

"The committee has considered your application and is not willing to approve it, because you have outstanding fines imposed on you for breaching its conflicting tournament regulations," the email said, according to the Daily Telegraph. “You will therefore be removed from the entry list and your entry fee will be refunded with immediate effect."

LIV Golf has paid fines for players who were docked including the initial £100,000 penalty Westwood received. They would apparently pick up the remaining fines, but Westwood contends it shouldn’t be necessary as he resigned his membership in the wake of a U.K. arbitration panel ruling in April which stipulated that the DP World Tour was within its rights to levy fines and suspensions to those who violated the conflicting events rules.

The major championships have stayed out of the fight to this point but the Senior Open is a joint venture along with the DP World Tour, according to the Telegraph, hence the ability to enforce fines.

According to the email, the entry date for the tournament does not close until July 6, so the application of both players would be reviewed again if the fines are paid.