LIV Team captain insists he will not listen to criticism after controversial decision as he speaks out

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The 2025 LIV Golf roster is taking shape, with just two places left to officially fill before the new season gets going in Riyadh in February.

It appears that Tom McKibbin will join LIV by signing for Legion XIII, leaving just Fireballs GC needing to complete their team. That comes after RangeGoats confirmed the signing of Ben Campbell and the return of Bubba Watson.

But perhaps the most controversial signing has come from Stinger GC, who confirmed that Branden Grace will return for 2025.

It did appear that Grace would not be involved with LIV Golf in 2025 after being relegated in 2024. Meanwhile, he failed to win the Promotions event which would have earned him a spot on LIV for the coming year.

Louis Oosthuizen defends re-signing Branden Grace for 2025 LIV Golf season

None of that appears to matter however, with Grace staying on Stinger anyway. And speaking to Golf Monthly, team captain Louis Oosthuizen insisted that he is not fazed by the criticism coming the team’s way having only had one player in mind.

“At the end of the day, you want to put the strongest team together,” he said.

“He’s a very strong player and, I wouldn’t be surprised if, this year, he has a really good season just to show everyone why he should be here. I’m confident with our decision and I’m not going to listen to all the white noise.”

Oosthuizen’s decision highlights the big problem LIV Golf now faces

It is a decision which is arguably much more significant than Oosthuizen is perhaps prepared to suggest. He may indeed back Grace for a better year, and there is absolutely no question at all that he is a much better player than his 2024 would suggest.

However, it makes a complete mockery of the concept of relegation. There is no difference at all between finishing in the open zone and in the relegation zone if ‘relegated’ players can still stay in the league anyway. And LIV will look absolutely ridiculous when they try and build the tension around relegation in 2025.

But the situation also highlights the big problem LIV faces in the next few years. The big names who jumped from the PGA Tour would have surely not signed up without some sort of assurances over the stability they would have on LIV.

LIV have signed some talented youngsters this year. However, they are still going to face a difficult time moving on the older players in the coming years, particularly if they have team captains who are prepared to make decisions which do not help the league’s credibility.