While there are still spots to fill ahead of the 2025 season, it does appear to be fair to say that this winter has been an underwhelming one for LIV Golf given the statement that they made this time last year.
LIV Golf may have a marquee signing or two up their sleeve before the new year. But with the opening event of 2025 less than two months away, everything feels a little flat – particularly when you consider that it was in December 2023 that the league announced the signing of Jon Rahm.
So far, just two new players will be playing on LIV next year, with Iron Heads signing Yubin Jang, while Lee Chieh-po secured his spot in the league by winning the Promotions event in Riyadh last week. It remains to be seen if he will join a team ahead of the new season.
It is not the only pathway into the league, with the winner of the Order of Merit in the International Series on the Asian Tour also able to make the jump. However, with Torque captain Joaquin Niemann winning that title in 2024, that spot was not up for grabs.
LIV Golf told they made a mistake with their Promotions event
And speaking on The Chipping Forecast, Eddie Pepperell suggested that LIV hurt their chances of attracting better players to the Promotions event by only handing out one spot on tour.
“I find it a bit unfortunate this year that there’s only going to be one new player graduating onto LIV Golf next season. With the year that John Catlin has had and Ben Campbell has had on the Asian Tour, to then be pushed out at the last minute by Joaquin Niemann winning in Saudi, it didn’t sit quite right with me,” he said.
“I think that was a bit of a shame. There needs to be more than one person coming onto that tour year on year for it, I think, to hold any weight.
“I think LIV missed a great opportunity. If there had been three spots available at this LIV Golf Q-School, I suspect they would have had a lot more better players go. So they’ve not got the number right.”
LIV Golf is still finalising its identity
The pathway problem arguably gets to the heart of the difficulty LIV Golf has in setting its identity in stone.
If they want to sell the idea that the team format is the priority, then they simply cannot have a large group of individuals secure promotion because the teams needing to fill spots with have only a small say in what players they can actually sign.
Perhaps the best way forward would be to relegate the worst team each year and hand out four spots across the International Series and the Promotions event, with the four players who earn places then forming a brand new team. Meanwhile, the established sides can continue to sign other players.
There is potential in what LIV offer, but it is almost as if they have worked so hard to be an alternative to the PGA Tour on every level that they have not left themselves room to realise that full potential.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
