The PGA Tour are making a risky rule change which could push players into joining LIV Golf

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The PGA Tour is making it far more difficult for young players to retain their tour card.

New CEO Brian Rolapp’s PGA Tour rule changes mean fewer players will retain their full playing privileges for the following season. Only the top 100 players in the FedEx Cup points list will retain their privileges, down from 125. 

In addition to that, fewer Korn Ferry Tour players earn a PGA Tour card. The top 30 used to earn their place on the tour, but now it’s the top 20. 

Some field sizes in PGA Tour tournaments will also be reduced, limiting the number of spots available for young players, and sponsor exemptions will also be reduced in some events. All of this makes maintaining a place on the tour even more challenging for the 2026 rookies. 

Rex Hoggard expressed concerns that the PGA Tour could lose a future star due to these changes, and LIV Golf could be licking their lips at that possibility. 

Why LIV Golf could benefit from PGA Tour rule change

It’s no secret that LIV Golf has faced difficulties recruiting superstars from the PGA Tour in recent seasons. Their last major signing was Jon Rahm, who won the individual title last season, but 2024 didn’t see a ground-breaking move, and so far, neither has the 2025 season.

It was reported that LIV was going to sign a PGA Tour winner ahead of the 2026 season, but so far, nothing has been confirmed. Instead, the biggest news coming from the tour has been the re-signing of Dustin Johnson and the reported re-signing of Bryson DeChambeau. 

However, this PGA Tour rule change could present significant opportunities for LIV to develop its own stars, rather than acquiring already established ones from the PGA Tour.

There’s a host of PGA Tour rookies in 2026 hoping to secure their cards for another season by finishing in the top 100. However, with smaller field sizes and fewer exemptions, some will inevitably fall short.

And outside of giving up on professional golf, where is there to turn but LIV? You simply never know when a once-struggling PGA Tour player can grow into a star. Take J.J. Spaun, who won the US Open after almost losing his card in 2024. 

If LIV Golf is open-minded enough to take in players who lost their tour card due to a sheer lack of opportunities, they could lay claim to the next Spaun.

It’s also a priceless PR opportunity for LIV. They can present themselves not as a retirement home for stars of years past, but as a fresh start and a welcoming home for young players who were rejected by the PGA Tour, who instead favoured giving exemptions to their past stars in poor form. 

And if LIV shows they can help develop young players into major winners, it could become the go-to destination for the next generation of superstars.

Players who LIV Golf could target after the 2026 season

2026 could present a prime opportunity for LIV Golf to snap up some potential future stars.

Marco Penge, who just earned his PGA Tour card from the DP World Tour, is an incredibly exciting talent with a great chance to succeed on the tour. But he still faces a tall task like the rest of the rookies. Penge almost lost his DP World Tour card in 2024. Things like that can happen in golf.

If he struggles to find his feet on the PGA Tour and can’t retain his playing privileges, he’s clearly talented enough to thrive in pro golf. Penge said he has never watched LIV in September, but he could be swayed to join if he can’t make it on the PGA Tour. 

Neal Shipley also presents an intriguing option for LIV. He earned his place on the PGA Tour through a fourth-place finish on the Korn Ferry Tour, after becoming one of the most popular personalities in golf.

Shipley was grouped with Tiger Woods at the 2024 Masters, thrusting him into the limelight, and he impressed by earning low amateur status at both the Masters and the U.S. Open that year.

Fans gravitated towards Shipley’s personality in 2024, and while he clearly has the talent to keep his tour card, you never know what can happen with a golfer’s form. And he’s precisely the type of personality LIV Golf should want with his ability to draw attention, even as an amateur.