Robopz retweeted
LIV Golf began the process to re-hire staff over the last few weeks and a significant number of key ex employees have held meetings with Ted Goldthorpe from BC Partners about employment in 2.0. Multiple sources have also indicated that an email was sent to former UK office staff to see if they were interested in working for the new entity.
LIV Golf has today announced former TaylorMade CEO Mark King as a senior advisor, who is expected “to recruit, build and serve as chairman of LIV Golf’s advisory board for the next era of the league.”
LIV Golf leadership have in recent weeks told players who are on the fence that they have “25-30 verbal commitments”. But it’s unclear how many, if any, have actually signed yet and my sourcing suggests that the true number will be considerably less. Relegated players have also already been approached about commitment for 2027.
Alongside recruitment, one of the biggest issues appears to be getting players to sign the Restructuring Support Agreements, which is essential to taking ownership of the company from the PIF. Several players have indicated to me they have no intention of doing so in the current form which could be another major problem for Scott O’Neil and BC Partners.
The list of players who have already gone public with their intention not to commit to the new league is as follows:
Jon Rahm (Captain of Legion XIII)
Tyrrell Hatton (Legion XIII)
Tom McKibbin (Legion XIII)
Ian Poulter (Co Captain of Majesticks)
Louis Oosthuizen (Captain of Southern Guards)
Branden Grace (Southern Guards)
David Puig (Fireballs)
Lucas Herbert (Ripper)
Graeme McDowell (OKGC)
Thomas Pieters (4 Aces)
Charles Howell (Crushers)
Abraham Ancer (Torque)
The list of players who have publicly committed is as follows:
Richard Bland (Cleeks)
Victor Perez (Cleeks)
Cameron Tringale (HyFlyers)
Brendan Steele (HyFlyers)
Ben Campbell (Range Goats)
The PIF have set a deadline of 30th October 2026 to determine whether they will allow BC Partners to continue the restructuring, or move towards formal liquidation.
Robopz retweeted
Austin Smotherman's year-by-year progression since turning pro a decade ago:
2016: Turned pro out of SMU
2017: Posted 3 top-10s in 14 starts on PGA Tour Latinoamerica, finished 30th on points list
2018: Had a win and four other top-10s to finish 4th in PGA Tour Latinoamerica points and graduate to Korn Ferry Tour
2019: Made only 12 of 25 cuts as KFT rookie but kept full status at 69th in points
2020-21: Racked up five top-10s, including a win, during the KFT’s super season and at No. 25 in points earned his PGA Tour card
2021-22: Only had a single top-10 in 25 starts, ending his PGA Tour rookie season at No. 137 in FedExCup, losing full status
2022-23: Made first four cuts of fall, parlayed that into 35 starts and a No. 125 finish in FedExCup, though he slipped to No. 135 after the fall to again enter the next year as a conditional member
2024: Only received 16 PGA Tour starts, of which he managed just three top-25s; also made 11 starts on the KFT and had to go to Q-School
2025: After securing guaranteed starts on KFT, he won twice among seven top-10s to place third in points and graduate to the PGA Tour for the second time
2026: Won twice in PGA Tour fall and now is exempt on the new Championship Series through 2029
Welp... 54-hole tournament it is... Here's the schedule for reduced OWGR points thru 15th & ties... Basically almost down to Korn Ferry Tour level (mid-15s)...
Note: Smotherman would earn an additional 4 bonus points should he win.
Robopz retweeted
Enough golfers commit to LIV 2.0 to keep hopes of new league alive ft.trib.al/S9oCFmD
Seems PGAT would really want to get 72 holes in... if not... OWGR awards only 75% points for 54-holes now... So Bermuda would be down from 21.9 winners share to 16.4
With no improvement to the current weather conditions and anticipated further deterioration, there will be no play today @Bermuda_Champ.
More information regarding play on Monday will be provided no later than 5:00 p.m. local today.
Tentative Exemption Status for 2027 PGA Tour - Going into Vidanta World Mexico Open
Note this is a first glance look, and is based on the week 42 FedEx Fall rankings, which will change after Bermuda
Here's an "all in one" glance at current exemption status for the 2027 PGA Tour. With the changes coming in 2028, it's VERY important to have good status for 2027.
Players entered in Mexico Open are noted in RED position numbers. Bermuda field is coming in around the 30-31 range. That's just about the same as 2025 when this event was played in February, and much better than Bermuda's 22.
Generally all players with a color background (except yellow) are in good shape for 2027.
• BLUE = Exempt for everything including all SIGS. Most are major exempt as well.
• GREEN (top-70) and TAN (wins or other exempt criteria for 2027) are exempt for everything except SIGS. Many have major exemptions.
• YELLOW are Medicals with significant medical starts in 2027 are shown. (there are more with only a few starts so they are not indicated)
• All players without a color background are not yet full exempt for next year (although down thru ~#80 are pretty safe)
NOTABLES with no safety net, thus at risk of not making FULL EXEMPT STATUS (Top-100) include:
*90 - Billy Horschel
94 - Jason Day
108 - Lucas Glover
*113 - Rasmus Hojgaard
*128 - Joel Dahmen
150 - Matt Kuchar
168 - Webb Simpson
* (In Mexico)
Robopz retweeted
Seeing others speculate on the topic, I had to throw my hat into the ring. I couldn't help myself.
Free to read this one..
thechippingforecast.substack…
LIV Player Status - Staying or Leaving
Update thru Friday 10-23
Tough day for LIV with some top players announcing their exodus on Friday... several affecting LIV's most important franchises... Hatton, McKibbin, Poulter, Grace & Herbert
Left is team by team player status... Right is player player status with notes.
Welp... Hatton and McKibbin also gone since I posted the below about an hour ago... Net Effect:
~14.7 would be the winners points if the 2026 LIV Roster played another LIV event today. This is MINUS the players who have announced leaving, and does include estimated values of their replacements. For reference... the last LIV event in INDY was ~20.7.
Pretty clear if LIV 2.0 does go forward... they're gonna be playing for significantly less points than 2026...
(add maybe 2.7 winners share for the 18 additional players they need to get to 75 players. That still has the total down to about 17.6 for the 2027 expanded roster... But that's only IF there are no more defections from right now... and IF normal point degradation of the remaining roster were to stop dead in it's tracks right now.)
GRIM 2027 OWGR Picture for LIVGolf - If it even survives and keeps it's OWGR points
(Duh, but of course I'm gonna run the numbers😏)
With the defections so far over the last week... LIVGolf is shedding future OWGR field strength faster than a swan loses feathers in molting season.
The LIV field as of August INDY finale would yield a ~19.4 winners share if they played today...
But with the 9-10 players already announced leaving LIV... it's down to ~15.7.
Adding 18 players to get to a 75 roster will likely add around 2.7 winners share points to whatever the '26 season ending 57 roster is reduced to... but this is looking kind of grim at this point. If LIV does exist into next year, they could easily be looking at KFT level (mid/low-15s) or even lower OWGR points... Yikes...
Robopz retweeted
After two seasons with Legion XIII, I have decided not to sign with LIV Golf for its next chapter. I will be playing a full schedule on the DP World Tour in 2027.
Joining LIV Golf was the right decision for me at the time, and I'm grateful for everything it has given me. Playing alongside Jon, Tyrrell and Caleb taught me more than I could have imagined. Thank you to them, the team staff and everyone at LIV Golf for making me feel at home from day one.
I've taken time to think about what's best for me and I am confident this to is the right decision to help me achieve my goals.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the last two years. See you in 2027.
GRIM 2027 OWGR Picture for LIVGolf - If it even survives and keeps it's OWGR points
(Duh, but of course I'm gonna run the numbers😏)
With the defections so far over the last week... LIVGolf is shedding future OWGR field strength faster than a swan loses feathers in molting season.
The LIV field as of August INDY finale would yield a ~19.4 winners share if they played today...
But with the 9-10 players already announced leaving LIV... it's down to ~15.7.
Adding 18 players to get to a 75 roster will likely add around 2.7 winners share points to whatever the '26 season ending 57 roster is reduced to... but this is looking kind of grim at this point. If LIV does exist into next year, they could easily be looking at KFT level (mid/low-15s) or even lower OWGR points... Yikes...
Talk about burying the lede... sheesh... 😁
Oosthuizen will rejoin DPWT in 2027 ... LIV court adjourns until Nov. 5; Hero return for Tiger? Hull adds modeling to portfolio open.substack.com/pub/thedai…
Robopz retweeted
Lucas Herbert, an integral member of the all Australian Ripper GC on LIV Golf, has confirmed to me he is leaving the league to play on the DP World Tour in 2027.
Lucas won twice on the LIV Golf League this season and shot an historic 62 at Royal Birkdale on his way to a T6 at The Open. He is also the third highest ranked Australian in the world and will be a huge asset to the DP World Tour next season.
Most Important Players for LIV to Keep - UPDATED
Some errors fixed, players & text added and/or edited, and my perception of current status...
Most Important Players for LIV to Keep - Ranked
Most of the tables I post are based on FACTS the best as I know them. But this one is pure OPINION.
Here's my rough ranking of player importance to the continuation of LIV. If and when we hear more confirmations on players leaving or staying...
IMO, the more BLUE in the status column at the top of this list, the more likely LIV 2.0 gets off the ground... the more red, the more likely it doesn't.
Again... this is just MY opinion... Your mileage may vary...
PS... and I'm not sure any of this matters anyway, if LIV 2.0 really is more about an NOL Tax Play vs being about the golf.
Most Important Players for LIV to Keep - Ranked
Most of the tables I post are based on FACTS the best as I know them. But this one is pure OPINION.
Here's my rough ranking of player importance to the continuation of LIV. If and when we hear more confirmations on players leaving or staying...
IMO, the more BLUE in the status column at the top of this list, the more likely LIV 2.0 gets off the ground... the more red, the more likely it doesn't.
Again... this is just MY opinion... Your mileage may vary...
PS... and I'm not sure any of this matters anyway, if LIV 2.0 really is more about an NOL Tax Play vs being about the golf.
PS... Copy beside #15 Young Guns should have read: "Quality young talent is so important to a golf league. And LIV basically was doing pretty well with this group (Masaveu aside). But with all of these looking for an exit (via q-school or otherwise) it'd be tough to lose any 2 or 3 of them."
I'll fix it if I ever repost this later on...