DP World Tour v LIV Golf hearing - all you need to know

(l-r) European Ryder Cup stalwarts Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter now play for Majesticks GC on the LIV Golf series

"We all know the date, it's either going to go one way or the other and then everyone will have to deal with the outcome," said Henrik Stenson, one of several key figures in golf's civil war.

That date has arrived.

Monday, 6 February marks the start of a week-long hearing that could shape the future of men's professional golf and potentially the wider sporting world.

At the heart of the case is a simple question of control and fairness. Can a governing body impose rules that determine when and where professional golfers can or cannot compete?

It is a result of the arrival of the Saudi Arabian-funded breakaway LIV Golf tour, to which Stenson defected last July, resulting in the Swedish former Open champion being stripped of Europe's Ryder Cup captaincy.

That was one of many skirmishes that have clouded the game over a past year riddled with unprecedented controversy and uncertainty.

Here is a guide to this key hearing that has begun in London. It is a case that is expected to bring a degree of clarity to golf's future.

Who is fighting the case?

There are 13 LIV players appealing against punishments Europe's DP World Tour wanted to impose for playing in the inaugural LIV event at the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire last June.

They were suspended from the Scottish Open and two events in the United States and were hit with $100,000 fines for failing to abide by the tour's refusal of waivers to play the LIV event.

Initially three players appealed: England's Ian Poulter, Spain's Adrian Otaegui and Justin Harding, of South Africa. The punishment was stayed, allowing them to continue playing DP World Tour events.

The number of appellants grew to 16, but South Africans Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel, and Sergio Garcia of Spain have subsequently removed themselves from the case.

Joining the initial trio of appellants are Englishmen Lee Westwood, Sam Horsfield, Richard Bland and Laurie Canter, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, German Martin Kaymer, Patrick Reed of the US, Austria's Bernd Wiesberger, Australian Wade Ormsby and Shaun Norris of South Africa.

What do the players want?

The freedom to play where they like, when they like. They argue they are independent contractors and have not been prevented from playing on rival circuits such as the PGA Tour in the past.

They contend that playing LIV events is no different and that they should be allowed to be members of both organisations.

What is the DP World Tour's position?

It says that players competing in simultaneous events on the LIV Tour is damaging to its long established calendar. The Centurion tournament coincided with the Scandinavian Mixed event last June.

Such conflicts can have an adverse effect on player participation, ticket sales, the value of TV contracts and tournament sponsorship deals.

The tour says it protects against this with rules governing permission to play conflicting competitions and it needs the right to impose those regulations.

Who will decide the case?

It is being heard by the arbitration body Sport Resolutions. A three-person panel comprising of retired High Court judge His Honour Phillip Sycamore CBE and two King's Counsels will hear evidence from legal teams representing Europe's DP World Tour and the 13 LIV players.

It is not a court case and is being heard behind closed doors. They have to decide whether the tour is acting fairly in seeking to punish the LIV players.

When will the outcome be known?

No precise date is known and it expected to take several weeks before the verdict is posted on the Sport Resolutions website.

Can the losers appeal?

Both sides agreed to this arbitration process because it is a relatively quick and cheaper process. The only recourse to appeal would be to go through the courts system.

What are the implications for the Ryder Cup?

If LIV players are banned from DP World Tour events (they are already indefinitely suspended from the PGA Tour) they will have very limited opportunities to earn qualifying points for the six automatic places in Europe's 12-man team to face the United States in Rome in September.

They would also have few chances, beyond LIV's 54-hole tournaments, to impress sufficiently and persuade captain Luke Donald to give them a wildcard selection. And with tour loyalists such as Rory McIlroy hostile to the "rebels" it is hard to envisage Europe's skipper using any of his six picks to select a LIV player.

What if the LIV players win?

They should be allowed to compete on the DP World Tour. This would become an attractive opportunity to gain world ranking points which are currently not available on the LIV circuit. This might also lead to the likes of Open champion Cameron Smith and US major winners Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, all of who joined LIV last year, playing some European tournaments. European LIV players would stand a better chance of qualifying for the Ryder Cup team.

Does this case have anything to do with the legal proceedings happening in the United States?

No. The American action between the PGA Tour and LIV players is a separate anti-trust case in which both sides are suing each other. It is currently going through an exhaustive discovery phase and the trial is scheduled for 8 January 2024.

Are there any precedents?

The European Court of Justice last year ruled against the International Skating Union in a case involving speed skaters who were banned after competing in a rival competition. It was seen as a landmark decision with the potential to be as significant as the 1995 court ruling involving Belgian footballer Jean-Marc Bosman, which allowed free movement of players in the EU.

Are there sporting implications beyond golf?

Potentially yes. "This decision and the US decision are going to be an important test of where the line is drawn on main organisational bodies controlling professional sports people's participation in rival competitions and leagues," sports lawyer Duncan Bagshaw told BBC Radio Four's Today programme. "This will set the global scene not only in golf but will probably have ripples through all of professional sport."