LIV Golf will take a number of positives from how their stars have performed at the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour this week.
The start of the 2026 season is looming for LIV Golf. So it is certainly encouraging to have the likes of Patrick Reed and David Puig at the top of the leaderboard in Dubai.
Which LIV Golf youngster do you think is going to have the best career?
The likes of Michael La Sasso, Josele Ballester, David Puig and Tom McKibbin undoubtedly have incredible potential!
But LIV goes into 2026 with a point to prove after what has arguably been a mediocre off-season.
One of LIV Golf’s off-season targets is making a flying start to 2026
Of course, the headline news was that Brooks Koepka left and returned to the PGA Tour.
They did manage to convince some good players to make the jump in the opposite direction. The likes of Thomas Detry and Byeong Hun An are shrewd signings for the league.
And convincing Michael La Sasso to turn professional and join Phil Mickelson‘s HyFlyers is also a big boost.
But there were a number of players linked with LIV who decided against a move.
Akshay Bhatia turned down a lucrative offer, while Max Greyserman was reportedly offered an eight-figure sum to join RangeGoats.
However, the most striking news came when it was reported that Si-woo Kim was in advanced talks to sign with LIV.
Kim appeared to be the league’s top target to take over the rebranded Korean Golf Club. But he ultimately decided to stay with the PGA Tour.
Heading into the final round of The American Express, that is looking like a real blow for LIV.
Kim is leading by one shot with 18 holes to play at La Quinta. He will play alongside Scottie Scheffler and Blades Brown in the last group on Sunday.
The South Korean won the event back in 2021. So he will take plenty of confidence into Sunday as he looks to secure a fifth PGA Tour victory.
Keeping Si-woo Kim is looking like a big boost for the PGA Tour
Kim seemed to be someone who could really benefit from a fresh start heading into 2026. His most recent win came back in 2023, while he only had three top 10s on the PGA Tour last year.
And given that LIV has been more successful internationally, there seemed to be the potential for Kim to become a bit of a superstar as the captain of Korean Golf Club. He certainly has a personality that fans are drawn to.
Rate LIV Golf’s off-season out of 10…
Brooks Koepka has left, while they have signed the likes of Laurie Canter and Thomas Detry so far
It would have been a real coup if he had realised his astronomical potential as a LIV player.
Annoyingly for LIV, Kim is already off to a much better start in 2026 than how he began 2025 where he missed the cut at Waialae before finishing tied for 51st at La Quinta. He would not register a top 10 until the RBC Heritage in April.
There is obviously a long way to go in the season, but the very early signs suggest that it is a big win for the PGA Tour to hold onto Kim.
With that, it is another setback for LIV to miss out.
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