There’s no taking away from the fact that LIV Golf has been a mighty successful competitor of the PGA Tour. The lure of LIV Golf lies in the team format as well as the tournament being overall shorter than the PGA Tour. In 2023, LIV golf had managed their biggest scalp yet, with 2023 Masters Championship winner Jon Rahm joining the league. Since then, the names haven’t been as big and less frequent too. To add to that, the format seems to be a parody of itself.

LIV Golf introducing relegation felt like a breath of fresh air. It was in hopes of making the league more entertaining and incentivizing competitive golf. In July 2022, it was announced that LIV Golf would include a relegation aspect and the future looked bright. However, fast-forward to 2025 and only 50% of the ‘relegated’ players have been relegated since last season.

Most recently, Branden Grace and Bubba Watson have been kept for the 2025 season despite finishing last year in the relegation zone. This drew side-eyes from critics who feel like the relegation system is a joke right now. Should LIV Golf do away with relegation? Well, the concept of relegation is certainly good for the sport, but if it is not being upheld, then what is the point? Well, at the end of the day, if you’re getting paid, well, then you are more than likely going to play, and LIV Golf pays well. It guarantees money and equity stakes in teams, whereas the PGA tour could leave you skint even after participating.

And who wouldn’t want the whopping contract? The hype of LIV Golf has poached some of the top names from the PGA Tour, including Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio García, and others. However, the league has been struggling to generate revenue, which has been a major concern for the supporters as well. After spending over $500 million in 2022, the revenue generated in 2023 was under $100 million. Their TV deal also ended in 2024 and rumors are they are partnering up with Fox for 2025.

The last golfer who joined LIV was Tyrrell Hatton in January 2024. Since then, even after offering a grand contract, golfers have rejected it. To keep the flow of the event maintained, LIV golfers, even after being in the drop zone, got the chance to play as new names have not been added since January 2024. And why would they join? There is no guarantee that you will stay in the league unless you have a team and there’s no parachute payment in case you are relegated. And to make matters worse, if you don’t have a team and someone else has been relegated from their team, they would just bring them back, instead of signing someone new.

For example, Max Lee won the promotions event and shot 10 under par over 36 holes at Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia. However, he currently stands as a wildcard entry for 2025 as he doesn’t have a team yet. Even though the golfers could only be brought back if a business case was made and accepted. With the big names of Bubba Watson and Branden Grace, the management didn’t take a while to take them back. Sharing with Golf Monthly, Louis Oosthuizen, captain of Stringer GC said, “No (we didn’t ask any other players to join), from the get-go we were working with LIV and saying we want him [Branden Grace] back. We were asking how can we get him back?.. Not for one second did we think of anyone else.”

Even Phil Mickelson added Cameron Tringale to the team, as his contract was still active, despite being in the drop zone. Other than just ignoring the rules, there are many reasons behind golfers rejecting the grand offer of the PIF league.

Possible reasons why golfers are ignoring the grand offer of LIV

Unlike the initial days, the negatives and positives of signing, the contract are clear now. Considering this, the rate of new contracts being signed has reduced drastically. The decline is not a great sign for LIV Golf, as critics have already targeted the leagues with its different format and survival issues.

For the league, one of the major roadblocks is the OWGR approval. Players who have joined LIV are struggling with the steep decline in ranking. For example, Brooks Koepka, who once stayed at first position for 47 weeks, is now down to 96th and could be slipping to his career lowest. Not only this, but the event broadcast and viewership are also among the top concerns for the league. The season opener for the LIV Golf in 2024 got 432,000 viewers, with the best TV ratings.

Also, even after 3 years, the league is still in talks to get an official broadcasting partner for the events. Even fans have compared it to TGL golf, which got a broadcasting partner before LIV Golf. Now with the rising concern of the new players signing. Can LIV Golf survive against the PGA Tour? Or will it have to change its relegation and format to fit into the OWGR qualification? What should be the next move of LIV according to you? Share with us in the comments section below.