LIV Golf told the three players they could sign who would really hurt the PGA Tour but there’s a big problem

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Once the dust settles after the upcoming Ryder Cup, there will be some intrigue surrounding which players LIV Golf manage to sign ahead of the 2026 season.

LIV Golf has now completed four campaigns. With players such as Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm in the ranks, it is clear that the league is not going anywhere. However, it is surely also fair to say that their momentum has stalled.

There have been changes to the league ahead of 2026. LIV told their players that those in the drop zone would indeed be relegated after this season.

It came after a farcical situation which saw Branden Grace somehow keep his place despite being ‘relegated’ in 2024.

LIV Golf told they have a big problem ahead of the 2026 season

There are still places up for grabs through the Asian Tour and their Promotions Event. However, LIV will be aware that they ideally need to make a statement with the signings they bring in over the coming months.

However, there are doubts about how successful LIV will be. Writing for Golfweek, Eamon Lynch has suggested that the PGA Tour can be extremely confident about weathering any storm.

“The league’s fourth season having concluded, we now commence the annual rumormongering about Yasir Al-Rumayyan doubling down and signing new stars. The PIF governor’s problem is that there are only a few players whose defections could impact LIV’s trajectory — Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth — and they’re not going anywhere,” he said.

“That leaves LIV with the same dog-eared playbook: sign rising stars who haven’t risen enough to be considered actual stars, or perpetually injured journeymen whose absence from the PGA Tour would be noticed only by alert insurance adjusters. In short, guys tempted by a gilded retirement without the inconvenience of having to accomplish anything along the way. 

“Al-Rumayyan may well spend to retain the services of those already hired, like Dustin Johnson, whose contract nears expiration, but that’s just buying time, not doubling down. He must know the current roster isn’t going to make LIV a success, that an audience of scale is non-existent, that sponsor and broadcaster interest is limited to companies PIF can strong-arm, or that don’t want to jeopardize other commercial interests in Saudi Arabia. Al-Rumayyan’s only parachute remains a seemingly improbable deal with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, which is why he jettisoned the widely unpopular Norman in the first place.”

The PGA Tour should feel extremely confident as LIV Golf prepares for its fifth season

Lynch is surely correct in his assessment. There will not be many players on the PGA Tour who have not had an offer from LIV. So if they were not tempted to jump ship previously, it is difficult to see why they would want to move in the future.

Of course, LIV could increase their offers to those players. Meanwhile, some may fancy a change of scene for a variety of reasons. Scott O’Neil has claimed that LIV are open to signing PGA Tour players.

However, as Lynch suggests, if LIV do not sign Scheffler, McIlroy or Spieth, it is not going to come close to tipping the balance of power. Rahm was arguably the best player in the world when he made the move in December 2023.

LIV need to keep all of their best players while also building new stars in the likes of Tom McKibbin and Josele Ballester. And they need their players to start making more of an impact in the major championships.

It feels like a race against time for the league if they are going to stand any chance of becoming a real force in the game’s long-term future.