Tag: Greg Norman

LIV Golf withdraws application for Official World Golf Ranking points

LIV originally applied for points in July of 2022 and was denied points in October of 2023.

Last October, after more than a year of deliberation, the Official World Golf Ranking rejected LIV Golf’s application for world ranking points. On Tuesday, the league formally withdrew its application, which was originally sent in July of 2022.

“We have made significant efforts to fight for you and ensure your accomplishments are recognized within the existing ranking system,” LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman wrote in a letter to players ahead of this week’s event in Hong Kong. “Unfortunately, OWGR has shown little willingness to productively work with us.”

When it denied LIV points, the OWGR claimed the league – which features a mostly-closed field of 54 players playing 54-hole, shotgun start, no-cut events – wasn’t able to be compared to the other 24 tours under its world ranking wing. Also stated to be of concern were the qualifying and relegation methods employed by LIV Golf.

“We are not at war with them,” Peter Dawson, chairman of the OWGR board, said to the AP. “This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical. LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked. They’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players trying to compete on them.”

Commissioner Greg Norman and LIV Golf players have questioned the world ranking system from the jump and have been critical of the board members who may have conflicting interests when it comes to the upstart circuit backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. However, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and others all reportedly recused themselves from the LIV decision to avoid any such conflict.

From the AP:

The committee that rejected LIV’s application comprised leaders from Augusta National, the PGA of America, the U.S. Golf Association and The R&A, which run the four majors. The majors use the OWGR as part of their qualifying criteria.

The pathways to LIV Golf are few and far between, but the league did implement a promotions event last year which saw three players gain status. The leading player on the Asian Tour’s International Series Order of Merit also earns a LIV spot for the following season.

LIV makes its first appearance in Hong Kong this week, March 8-10, at Hong Kong Golf Club in Sheung Shui.

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Lynch: Greg Norman is gaslighting the gullible with laughable claim that world golf ranking is obsolete

Norman is waging a campaign against the ranking because players swallowed his guff as gospel.

The default strategy of blowhard narcissists is to declare any rules or institutions hindering their agenda to be invalid and unfair, an argument invariably mounted via a firehose of horseshit that’s nevertheless accepted by credulous conspiracy theorists. So it is with Greg Norman and the Official World Golf Ranking, which has declined to recognize Norman’s LIV Golf tournaments.

Gaslightin’ Greg says it’s “laughable” that LIV would feature just two of the world’s top 50 golfers if not for recent signings. The insinuation is obvious: the OWGR is discriminating against LIV, and the ranking is obsolete — charges dutifully repeated by his lunkhead loyalists, who probably think critical faculty refers to the frustrated high school teachers who couldn’t help them to a passing grade.

The OWGR denied LIV’s application for recognition last October, and the organization’s chairman, Peter Dawson, carefully explained the decision. Concerns included the relegation process, whereby a player who finishes 25th might lose status while one who finishes last doesn’t because he’s contractually exempt from being booted.

Another issue was LIV playing individual and team events simultaneously. Dawson singled out comments by Sebastian Munoz, who admitted he backed off a chance to win an individual title last spring so as to protect a lead in the team affair. The possibility of teammates being paired together was also raised, since those players might be incentivized to overlook untoward conduct (not that anyone at LIV has a reputation for dodgy rules infractions, right counselor Klayman?).

The OWGR signposted what steps LIV could take to be eligible for ranking points; LIV said it will not comply. Those are the basic facts. Norman, however, is relying on brazen misrepresentation. He claims the function of the OWGR is to rank the best golfers in the world. It is not. Its function is to rank the best golfers competing on tours whose competitive integrity can be vouched for. That’s a crucial caveat conveniently omitted by the flaxen-haired finger puppet.

Norman and LIV are clinging to the risible notion that golfers are entitled to ranking points on name recognition and reputation alone, as though star power renders irrelevant the competitive integrity of where they play. There are no stars competing on the Nordic Golf League and Big Easy Tour, but both are recognized by the OWGR because they observe the necessary criteria. LIV isn’t because it won’t, so Norman decries the legitimacy of the rules and even of the very ranking whose imprimatur he seeks, while insisting the majors must rewrite exemption criteria to accommodate his objectives.

2024 LIV Golf Mayakoba
Jon Rahm of Team Legion XIII, right, stands with LIV CEO Greg Norman on the first tee during the first round of the LIV Golf Mayakoba tournament at El Chamaleon Golf Course. (Photo: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports)

On Feb. 21, Augusta National Golf Club announced that invitations have been extended to three players not otherwise qualified for the Masters. One went to Joaquin Niemann, who recently won on the LIV tour then complained it wasn’t enough to exempt him into major championships (though winning the Seminole Pro-Member wouldn’t qualify a chap either). Niemann was No. 18 in the world when he signed with LIV and is now ranked 81st. The Masters was explicit about why the young Chilean was deserving of an invitation: the tournament’s desire to have representation from regions where golf is growing, and Niemann’s victory in the Australian Open, alongside several strong showings on the DP World Tour. His performances on LIV were not mentioned.

Thorbjorn Olesen also received a Masters invitation on the heels of a recent win and a handful of high finishes on the European circuit. Taken together, the message from Augusta National seems unambiguous: competing on LIV won’t prevent someone from being welcomed down Magnolia Lane in April, but competing almost exclusively on LIV while making no effort to meet the Masters’ established exemption criteria will.

The criticisms of the OWGR coming from the LIV quarter expose two realities: players who jumped despite knowing ranking points were not available are insisting on being insulated from the consequences of their decisions, and a CEO is frantically trying to blame others for his failure to deliver on false promises. Two weeks ago, Carlos Ortiz told a podcast that he was assured by LIV upon signing that he would earn world ranking points. Who do you suppose promised Ortiz something that wasn’t within his gift? Norman is waging a campaign against the ranking because players swallowed his guff as gospel and now realize they were sold a bill of goods, including by unscrupulous agents. That’s why more than 20 members of LIV’s roster are currently in Oman, searching the shallows of the Asian Tour for points..

Whatever the fate of LIV becomes down the road, its players are in a hole when it comes to accessing the championships that matter more than money, at least those dependent on world ranking for entry. And all the bluster in the world can’t disguise Greg Norman’s role in putting them there.

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LIV Golf Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan updates players on potential future investment in PGA Tour Enterprises

The letter comes a day after the PGA Tour secured a $3 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was first to the table in June of 2023 to negotiate a framework agreement with the PGA Tour to create a new for-profit entity that would alter professional golf as we know it, and has been locked in discussions in the seven months since.

Just hours after news broke that an outside investment group comprised of a consortium of U.S. sports owners had agreed to invest $3 billion to create PGA Tour Enterprises, Greg Norman responded with a letter to the entire league staff that was obtained by Golfweek. The note didn’t just hype up LIV Golf’s third official season – which begins this week at Mayakoba’s El Camaleon Golf Course – but also downplayed any negative impact the Strategic Sports Group’s investment may have on LIV’s future.

A day later, Golfweek has obtained yet another letter, this time sent from LIV Golf Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan to players, that took a more measured approach.

Dear All,

Yesterday’s announcement of the formation of PGA Tour Enterprises is consistent with PIF’s longstanding passion to grow the game. PIF continues to discuss and evaluate the possibility of a future investment that benefits the greater game of golf.

PIF remains committed to investing in and supporting LIV and the team golf format that has brought new energy and so many new fans to the game around the world.

The game of golf is only beginning to fulfill its potential. This is the vision we had when LIV was created, and today that is more alive than ever. LIV has transformed the sport, and we will continue to grow the game globally, expand its fanbase, elevate its platform, and maintain incredible momentum.

LIV has a great season ahead. Good luck at Mayakoba. I will see you all on the range soon.

Yasir

LIV Golf Chairman

[5:27 PM] Woodard, Adam

Words matter, and Al-Rumayyan chose his carefully by hedging any guarantee of an investment. He also amplified the PIF’s investment in LIV and made it clear the league plans to continue to grow whether or not a deal is reached, as seen with new player signings and eight of 14 events outside the United States. In the Tour’s announcement of its partnership with the SSG, the release stated PGA Tour Enterprises allows for a co-investment from the PIF in the future, “subject to all necessary regulatory approvals.”

The U.S. government has kept a keen interest in the proposed PIF investment since the initial framework agreement was announced. An optimist would say the inclusion of the SSG investment may dilute any future Saudi investment just enough to make a deal more palatable for the feds. A pessimist could also argue the Tour is attempting to squeeze the Saudis out.

LIV Golf has ventured on after the Tour and PIF’s previous deadline of Dec. 31, 2023, to come to an agreement was missed. The league has poached great players and characters like Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton and will host at least four events in 2024 the same week as PGA Tour signature events, including this week in Mexico. While the possibility of an investment in PGA Tour Enterprises is certainly still on the table, Al-Rumayyan’s letter sure makes it seem like the two sides still aren’t close to coming together.

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Greg Norman sends letter to LIV Golf staff regarding $3 billion investment in PGA Tour

“Nothing announced by other tours or investment groups changes LIV Golf’s positive trajectory or future plans.”

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman’s message to his entire staff in relation to the news of the Strategic Sports Group’s $3 billion investment in the PGA Tour to create a new for-profit entity was simple: onward.

In a letter obtained by Golfweek sent just days before the start of the 2024 LIV Golf League season at Mayakoba’s El Camaleon Golf Course in Mexico, Norman wrote to his staff to not just hype up LIV Golf’s third official season, but to also downplay any negative impact the SSG investment may have on LIV’s future.

An excerpt from the letter:

As you may have seen, the PGA Tour made an announcement this morning about an investment partner. Let me make one thing very clear: nothing announced by other tours or investment groups changes LIV Golf’s positive trajectory or future plans.

We started LIV Golf with the goal of creating something new, taking the game to a global, diverse audience and driving innovation while growing golf’s fanbase. More investment in golf is a great thing for the game and for us. It’s a positive development for our players, our fans, and for the long-term future of the game.

Golf is now viewed as an asset class. We proved this was possible and are now in a unique position to mold and drive this incredible growth opportunity. This broader interest and commitment to the game, and investment in its future, would not have happened without the emergence of LIV Golf as an innovative force in the golf ecosystem.

Norman said the league was “moving full steam ahead” into 2024 and beyond and that he has “never been more confident in the league, the people involved, and our supporters all over the world.”

Just seven months ago the Tour announced a framework agreement with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to create what we now know today as PGA Tour Enterprises. The Tour confirmed in a release on Wednesday that progress has been made in ongoing negotiations with the PIF, LIV Golf’s financial backers, on a potential future investment. That same release also stated that PGA Tour Enterprises allows for a co-investment from the PIF in the future, “subject to all necessary regulatory approvals.”

The previous deadline of Dec. 31, 2023, to come to an agreement was missed, but both sides have ventured on. The PGA Tour now has more money to spend and LIV has new assets in former Tour players like Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. As Norman would say, onward they go.

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Scott Simpson on AT&T partner Bill Murray doing snow angels in the bunker, why he’s anti-LIV and how Greg Norman became ‘a jerk’

“He was just grumpy and entitled … nobody liked him.”

HONOLULU — A year ago, while covering the PGA Tour in Maui, I heard that former U.S. Open champion Scott Simpson not only had moved to Hawaii after his playing days had come to an end, but that he had become the men’s golf coach at University of Hawaii. Who knew!

So, I looked him up and met with the seven-time PGA Tour winner the following week at the Sony Open for what resulted in an enjoyable two-part Q&A and a standalone story (Part I here; U.S. Open flash back here; partnering with Bill Murray at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am here). A few weeks ago, during my return trip to Oahu to cover the Sony Open, we sat down again for another solid hour and delved deeper into partnering with Bill Murray at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, coaching the modern golfer, why he supports a rollback of the ball and doesn’t like NIL or LIV as well as how Greg Norman turned into a jerk. All that and more. Enjoy.

Lynch: What unites LIV Golf supporters and PGA Tour players? An eagerness to ignore inconvenient facts

LIV’s foot soldiers are trying to legitimize their folly. But PGA Tour facts are being glossed over, too.

The behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman has argued that people who are committed to a theory tend to dismiss inconvenient facts, preferring to believe that the facts are wrong rather than the theory. The Nobel laureate doesn’t want for supporting data in an era when alternative realities are constructed and vigorously defended in every sphere of daily life, and golf is providing its own book of evidence.

A comparatively inconsequential example came this week when Scottie Scheffler was voted the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year. Tin foil hatters like to hint at ballot tampering in Tour headquarters, but if there was a tipping of the scale here it probably came in the locker room. Scheffler had an outstanding season, but with twice as many victories and a major championship, Jon Rahm’s was clearly superior. Then Rahm quenched a sudden thirst to grow the game and jumped to LIV halfway through the two-week voting period in December, leaving his peers sufficient time to will into existence a more palatable reality, honoring the amiable Texan rather than giving the Spaniard a going-away gift.

Across town, LIV’s social media foot soldiers remain alert for opportunities to legitimize their folly. Rory McIlroy’s conciliatory comments about players who went to the Saudi-funded league were seized upon by knuckle-draggers as tantamount to an endorsement after years of scorn. McIlroy is conflict-averse and disarming by nature (traits not shared by all of his countrymen) and this wasn’t the first time he has lamented friendships that fractured in the past couple of years. His praise for Rahm’s “smart business move” was brandished as his blessing LIV when it was more an inadvertent illustration of how elite stars see this issue — as a straightforward, yay-or-nay commercial opportunity — compared to the existentially threatened rank-and-file on the tours they’re undermining for personal enrichment. Nor was McIlroy’s suggestion that he might one day play team golf any revelation. He’s spearheading just such a concept with Tiger Woods, theirs being more likely than LIV to seed whatever team component takes shape in the future.

Untroubled by this context, Greg Norman promptly thanked McIlroy for “falling on his sword,” albeit not in the manner that Jamal Khashoggi fell on the sword of the flaxen-haired finger puppet’s employer. To Norman, McIlroy’s placatory words represented proof that he has seen through the propaganda, that LIV’s ‘future of the game’ narrative is credible, that Norman isn’t helming a flailing exercise in sportswashing.

Facts be damned on that too. Regardless of what Norman and his band of bootlickers tell themselves, their Saudi overlords didn’t earn a spot at the negotiating table by dint of popular opinion or product quality, but by threats and profligacy. Several billion dollars later, the Public Investment Fund still can’t boast a league that engages fans or sponsors, as evidenced by viewership too paltry to report and revenue barely sufficient to cover Patrick Reed’s legal bills. All PIF has demonstrated is the ability to sabotage rivals by using LIV as a mechanism for taking willing, well-compensated hostages until the other tours are ready to negotiate terms.

Reliance on theories over facts isn’t limited to the LIV ecosystem but rather is increasingly apparent on the PGA Tour too. There appears to be a growing sentiment among members that the Tour landed in its current predicament because its leadership was short-sighted and flat-footed, too arrogant to engage the Saudis at the outset and too complacent to meet the challenge posed. There’s more than a kernel of truth in those charges, but the notion that the Tour ought to have quickly embraced the Saudis is specious. The DP World Tour did that by adding a Saudi stop to their schedule in 2019, by which time their new “partners” were already secretly plotting to supplant the European circuit with the Premier Golf League concept and use that as a beachhead to move against their U.S. counterparts. Jay Monahan had reason to stiff-arm the Saudis, having seen the intent was not to work within golf but to own it outright.

There’s ample blame to go around for the current debacle in professional golf, but it’s not being evenly assigned. The Tour’s capitulation on June 6 provides convenient cover for those committed to the theory that matters could have been settled sensibly long ago if only leaders had actually led. Monahan and his team deserve criticism but it’s a useful fiction to pretend that responsibility ends there. The most inconvenient fact remains this: the PGA Tour is humbling itself before an abhorrent regime because of the disloyalty and greed of its own players. No amount of self-serving theories will change that.

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Now, LIV Golf’s Greg Norman is thanking Rory McIlroy for ‘falling on his sword’

Two of the bigger antagonists in this nearly two-year-old feud are showing signs of a reconciliation.

Are we seeing the end of the rivalry and bitterness between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour?

While Jon Rahm being poached by LIV appeared to reignite the hostility, Jupiter’s Rory McIlroy and Palm Beach Gardens’ Greg Norman, two of the bigger antagonists in this nearly two-year-old feud, are showing signs of a reconciliation.

Norman, LIV’s CEO and commissioner, expressed his appreciation for McIlroy “falling on his sword.”

McIlroy, speaking recently on a podcast hosted by Sky Sports, admitted he was “too judgmental” about LIV.

“I’ve got to be honest with you, I’m very appreciative of what Rory said,” Norman said on the LIV Golf Podcast. “It’s been a painful couple of years.

“The reason I say I appreciate Rory to fall on his sword to some degree is the fact that he did judge us by not knowing the facts. He judged us on other people’s thoughts and opinions. I say, ‘Hey, thank you Rory’. This is a significant turning point for everybody.”

This comes after Phil Mickelson took to X, formerly known as Twitter, early Thursday morning to share his thoughts on McIlroy’s comments.

Greg Norman greats Phil Mickelson on the first tee during the final round of the LIV Golf Bedminster golf tournament at Trump National Bedminster. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which finances LIV Golf, and the PGA Tour continue to work on closing the “framework agreement” that would create a for-profit company combining their commercial interests. The deal includes PIF reportedly investing up to $2 billion in the PGA Tour.

A Dec. 31 deadline was set to close the deal but the Tour is looking to extend the negotiations given “active and productive conversations.”

McIlroy, the four-time major champion and No. 2 ranked golfer in the world, likely has helped those negotiations by saying he has accepted the reality that LIV is part of golf now.

“I think that was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realize not everyone is in my position or in Tiger’s position,” McIlroy said.

Rory McIlroy of Team Europe smiles after chipping in on the eighth hole during a practice round prior to the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club on September 26, 2023, in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

“You get this offer and what do you do? We all turned professional to make a living playing the sports that we do and I think that’s what I realized over the past two years, I can’t judge people for making that decision.”

Rahm joined LIV Golf for a deal reportedly worth more than $550 million including bonuses. McIlroy and Rahm were European Ryder Cup teammates during last fall’s victory over the U.S. in Rome.

“Jon Rahm’s not got any of the heat the first guys got for going,” McIlroy said. “It’s a smart business move, it’s opportunistic. I think he sees that things will come back together.

“If that is what he wants to do and he thinks that’s the right decision for him and his family, then who am I to say any different at this point?”

Rahm, ranked No. 3 in the world, will make his LIV debut Feb. 2-4 at Mayakoba, Mexico.

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PGA Tour’s Jay Monahan or LIV Golf’s Greg Norman: Who gets fired first?

The biggest surprise in 2024 could be Monahan cleaning out his desk and Norman surviving.

When the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced a framework agreement to merge their commercial operations, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan appeared the future leader and golf and LIV Golf’s Greg Norman a casualty of the deal.

Monahan lauded the “historic day,” and was hailed as the man who would oversee both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, which is bankrolled by the PIF. And it was reported he even had the power to make LIV Golf go away.

As for Norman, LIV’s CEO and commissioner, we were told during a Senate subcommittee hearing one month after the announcement the Palm Beach Gardens resident is “out of a job” if a deal is reached.

Seven months later, Monahan’s star has crashed and burned and Norman, well, he’s as defiant and confident as ever.

Whether or not the sides reach a deal by Sunday’s deadline — Tiger Woods believes it’s possible — the biggest surprise in 2024 could be Monahan, a man who not long ago was a rising star in his field, cleaning out his desk in Ponte Vedra Beach and Norman surviving the chaos.

A scenario that suddenly is a real possibility.

While some PGA Tour members are calling for new leadership, Norman expressed his confidence that he and LIV are here for the long run during a meeting with select members of the media at Doral two months ago.

Norman was asked what he thought when he heard the PGA Tour’s chief operating officer, Ron Price, declare Norman would be squeezed out.

“I knew it wasn’t true,” he said. “There’s so much white noise floating around out there that I actually paid zero attention to. … I was never in any fear of anybody saying anything or any animus against me or anything like that.”

And Norman insists LIV Golf would continue as a “standalone entity” even if a deal is reached with the PGA Tour.

Sentry Tournament of Champions
Jon Rahm shakes hands with Jay Monahan, PGA TOUR Commissioner, during the trophy ceremony after winning during the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Plantation Course at Kapalua Golf Club on January 08, 2023 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Jupiter’s Xander Schauffele has been one of the most outspoken about Monahan’s future, telling Today’s Golfer he “wouldn’t mind” seeing new leadership.

“I would be lying if I said that I have a whole lot of trust after what happened,” Schauffele said. “That’s definitely the consensus that I get when I talk to a lot of guys. It’s a bit contradictory when they call it ‘our Tour’ and things can happen without us even knowing.

“It’s hard. I’m sure there are reasons for what happened, but at the same time, it puts us in a really hard spot to trust the leadership that did some stuff in the dark and is supposed to have our best interests at heart. I am a bit in the dark still. I hate to sit here and hope for the best.”

Monahan’s mistake was holding about two months of negotiations with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who heads the PIF, in secrecy. This angered the players and led to Woods being added to the Player Advisory Board to give the players a stronger voice.

Hearing the outrage, Monahan later regretted not looping in the players.

But Monahan clearly has lost the trust of the players, and watching Jon Rahm, who voiced his mistrust in Monahan at the U.S. Open, join LIV in November continued Monahan’s downward spiral.

LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman looks on from the range during Day One of the LIV Golf Invitational – Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on October 20, 2023, in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

“Management has not done a good job,” Viktor Hovland said in a recent podcast. “You see what happens behind closed doors, how management actually makes decisions that are not in the players’ best interest but best for themselves and what they think is best.”

As much as Monahan dismissed LIV Golf publicly — he once said LIV was an “irrational threat” — the league that has poached stars like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and now Rahm — from the PGA Tour, also has gotten its attention.

The Tour’s infusion of money into prize purses and the Player Impact Program, and begging sponsors to increase financial commitments is a direct result of LIV’s threat.

LIV gained leverage in these negotiations after signing Rahm and the PGA Tour knows it cannot compete with the PIF’s war chest of more than $700 billion.

That puts Norman in a position of strength. And Monahan desperately trying to hold on.

Tom D’Angelo covers golf among other sports for the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network.

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LIV Golf 2024 regular season schedule features event in Las Vegas week of Super Bowl

LIV will host 12 events across eight different countries during its regular season in 2024.

After getting trolled by Brooks Koepka on social media all weekend, the LIV Golf League has finally released the majority of its schedule for 2024.

On Wednesday morning the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund shared information on most of its regular season events but omitted some key details for tournaments.

Host venues for events in Saudi Arabia in March and the United States in April “will be unveiled soon,” same with the courses that will host the final two events of the season that will decide the individual and team champions.

Check out LIV Golf’s 2024 regular season schedule, which features an event in Las Vegas the week of the Super Bowl as well as stops in eight different countries.

LIV Golf free agency update: 10 open spots remain ahead of 2024 season

Everything you need to know for the start of LIV Golf’s free agency.

LIV Golf free agency is officially underway.

There are currently 10 openings across the 12 LIV Golf League teams ahead of the 2024 season, while four teams – Bryson DeChambeau’s defending champion Crushers GC, the three-captained Majesticks GC, Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC and the South African Stinger GC – all return their full teams.

The players in free agency are those who didn’t re-sign with their current teams from the top 24 in the season-long standings (the Lock Zone), as well as the players with expiring contracts who finished Nos. 25-44 (the Open Zone). Teams can fill their free roster spot by:

  • Signing another player in free agency
  • Signing an Open Zone player whose contract expired
  • Signing or trading for a player contracted with a different team
  • Signing an external player who was not a regular member of any 2023 LIV Golf team roster

LIV has minimum criteria for new players “to ensure the competitive integrity of the league,” and teams can’t recruit players under contract with another team without permission from that player’s current team. In other words: no tampering.

The free agency period will end when just four league roster spots remain. These spots are reserved for the winner of The International Series Rankings (Andy Ogletree) and the top three finishers from LIV Golf Promotions.

Here’s how each team currently stands at the start of LIV Golf free agency.