Could These Players Join LIV Golf in 2026

View From The Fairway by Derek Clements

You may not have heard of Jackson Koivun. That will change. He is, without the shadow of a doubt, a generational talent.

He is just 20 years of age and, as an amateur, has been given several starts on the PGA Tour in 2025. Seven of them to be precise. 

In January he finished in a tie for 56th at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Two months later he was tied 48th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and in June he missed the cut at the US Open. Nothing remarkable about any of that, you might think. And you would be quite right.

But at the beginning of July he finished tied 11th at the John Deere Classic and the following week he was tied sixth at the ISCO. In August he was tied fifth at the Wyndham and he then finished in a tie for fourth place at the Procore Championship, giving world number one Scottie Scheffler a run for his money.

This is proper golf. And as sure as night follows day at some point he will be joining the PGA Tour, for which he has already qualified. It will surprise absolutely nobody if he wastes no time picking up his maiden victory.

Unless Phil Mickelson has his way, that is. I do sometimes wonder what goes on between Mickelson’s ears these days. Some of his social media posts in recent years have left me dumbfounded. 

You may recall that he was deeply critical of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record before signing for LIV.

You will know that Mickelson is now a leading light on LIV Golf and he once again took to X to describe Koivun as "an amazing talent". He wrote: "And destined for greatness. He would also look great in a HyFlyers outfit."

In other words: "Come and join the LIV circus and get paid lots of money."

Blatant attempts to recruit golf’s best and brightest young talent leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. These are young men who would initially have grown up dreaming of winning majors and playing in the Ryder Cup. LIV has changed that but being a top tournament professional simply has to be about more than money alone.

Koivun, who played a leading role for the US Walker Cup team that thrashed Great Britain and Ireland 17-9 at Cypress Point, has already announced that he is deferring his PGA Tour membership to study for another year. 

He said: "I feel like I've gotten to that point where it's become easier to play golf on the PGA Tour. The more you put yourself in these situations the easier it is to get comfortable quicker."

You can be sure that agents have been circling Koivun’s camp and that some pretty huge cheques have been waved under his nose. I remain utterly convinced that any youngster making his first steps in professional golf should be doing so via either the PGA Tour or DP World Tour. 

The concern is that LIV Golf is looking for new golfers ahead of a season that begins in Saudi Arabia in February. Henrik Stenson, Mito Pereira, Yubin Jang, Anthony Kim and Frederik Kjettrup were among the players who were relegated this season and now face an uncertain future. In the past, team captains such as Stenson were granted a reprieve - but the rule has been changed. 

That means LIV will be looking to make some new high-profile signings and you can be certain that getting Koivun on the books would be seen as a major coup. They are also believed to be targeting Jason Day, Tony Finau and Tom Kim.

LIV has a track record for signing gifted young golfers - Yubin Jang, Frederik Kjettrup, Luis Masaveu, Tom McKibbin and Josele Ballester all joined their ranks in 2025. They probably all thought that their fairways were paved with gold but Jang and Kjettrup were relegated, while Masaveu was replaced by Ballester in Sergio Garcia’s team. 

So what happens to Jang, Kjettrup and Masaveu now? 

Rumours also persist about the futures of Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka - the contracts for both men expire at the end of 2026. 

To be frank, DeChambeau is a good fit for LIV and has been able to maintain a lofty world ranking on account of his performances in the majors. He is the only American whose overall form has not suffered since joining LIV.

Koepka is a different matter. His world ranking has tumbled and he was never in the Ryder Cup conversation, something that would have hurt him. 

It was interesting to note that during his recent European sojourn, where he enjoyed mixed fortunes, he was sporting Nike branding rather than that of his LIV franchise. He has refused to confirm or deny whether he will be remaining with LIV but my money is on him returning to the PGA Tour.

If Jackson Koivun is tempted by Mickelson’s overtures he would do well to speak to the likes of Jang, Kjettrup and Masaveu. I am certain that he will have watched the Ryder Cup and that it will be right up there at the top of his wish list - joining LIV will seriously jeopardise that.