One of the aspects about LIV Golf which does become more of a talking point particularly at this stage of the year is the situation surrounding their players’ contracts with the league, and what their futures hold.
Players obviously have a contract with LIV Golf, but the large majority are also involved with the various teams.
It would appear that the teams decide which players they sign. But it is clearly not as simple as that, with promotion and relegation a factor in each season. Those who finished 49th and lower in the season standings found themselves in the relegation zone, and would need to earn their place back in the future.
Meanwhile, it was suggested this year that team captains could also be relegated for the first time. However, whether they keep their places in the league seems to be much more of a business issue.
Why Harold Varner III got annoyed over questions about his LIV Golf future
Players who finish between 25th and 48th find themselves in the open zone. There are no guarantees that they will remain on LIV and they could end up as free agents – as Eugenio Chacarra has done. However, all of those who left one team from the open zone ahead of 2024 ended up in another team.
It was a tough year for Harold Varner III, who finished 43rd in the individual standings, with a tied 13th finish in the season finale at LIV Golf Chicago his best finish. So for some time, it did appear that the 4Aces star was in danger of being automatically relegated.
But perhaps that was not the case. Speaking with Bob Harig on Flushing It, Tom Hobbs suggested that Varner III was always confident in what his future held, despite how the league standings looked for the majority of the season.
“No, he is because I actually spoke to Harold about relegation at one of the International Series events, and he got quite upset with me about it. And one of his team then said to me that you haven’t done your research because Harold is contracted for 2025, even if he does go get relegated. And I was like, well, we don’t know this information,” he said.
“The information isn’t out there, and we’ve been told to push the storylines of the relegation and promotion. So, you know, the details are quite important.
“So, you know now how Harold can’t get relegated. So, that’s something they need to be open about.”
Why it can be hard to buy into all of LIV Golf’s product
Whatever you think of it, LIV does a fantastic job of offering something different to the PGA Tour. The top of the leaderboards always look strong whatever the event, and the team championship in Dallas did throw up a couple of superb matches this year.
However, LIV is still experiencing a number of teething problems. The depth appears to be lacking, while a number of the courses are hardly memorable. And the team element of the league does need work.
With everyone in the league pushing in the same direction, trying to build the LIV brand, it is harder to build the kind of rivalries which makes fans really care and feel strongly about the individual teams.
It is also arguably the case that the fans not having any idea about the length of contracts makes it harder to get as immersed in the product. As Hobbs suggests, if a player is unable to get relegated, why would fans buy into the drama at the bottom of the standings during the final events?
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