What does the future hold for Henrik Stenson?

Had things turned out slightly differently we might now be calling upon Henrik Stenson to lead Europe into a third successive Ryder Cup. You may recall that he was the man who was meant to captain Europe in the overwhelming victory against the USA in Italy in 2023.

Instead, he chose to join LIV Golf and was stripped of the captaincy. It meant that Europe had to look elsewhere. Step forward Luke Donald. Of course the Englishman went on to inspire Europe to a home win and was persuaded to do the job again in New York earlier this year when he once again didn’t put a foot wrong as Europe recorded a historic win on American soil.

He is now being urged to do the job one more time.

And what of Stenson? The former Open champion has seen his fortunes take a tumble for the worse. He has been relegated from the LIV Golf League and is now planning to rejoin the DP World Tour.

The 2016 Open champion has apparently paid more than £1m in fines to clear the way for his return. The Swede was one of the first players to join LIV. Initially things went well. He won on his LIV debut in 2022 but this year finished in 49th place in a league that features 56 players and was relegated. It meant he faced an uncertain future.

LIV has opted to start relegating players as part of its move to gain recognition by the Official World Golf Ranking. It has also decided that from next year its tournaments will be extended from 54 to 72 holes.

Stenson said: "Over the course of a career, you're going to have good years, you're going to have bad years - it's part of professional sport." To be frank, it hardly sounds like a man who is chomping at the bit to return, does it? It feels to me like he is returning because he believes he has no other option.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

He resigned from the DP World Tour in 2023 after being sanctioned for joining LIV and refusing to pay the fines imposed upon him. The tour issued bans of up to eight events and fines up to £100,000 for each tournament regulation breach.

Stenson’s plight has not put off Victor Perez though. The Frenchman, who has won three times on the DP World Tour, finished the 2025 PGA Tour season in 108th place in the FedEx Cup standings. That meant he either had to return to the DP World Tour or face a season on the Korn Ferry Tour. Instead, he is the latest to accept the Saudi dollar.

Perez won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, 2022 Dutch Open and 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, securing dual membership on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour via his Race to Dubai position that year.

He has spent most of his time playing on the PGA Tour the past two seasons but needed a big finish at the season-ending RSM Classic to have any chance of keeping his card. Upon announcing his switch he promptly withdrew from the RSM.

Perez said: "The sport's growth has been incredible, and LIV Golf's innovation and energy are driving it forward. I'm excited to be part of that momentum and can't wait to get started in Riyadh."

The new LIV season kicks off in February next year and you can be certain Perez will not be the last to make the move. 

Although his bank balance will have received a healthy boost, Perez would do well to take note of what has happened to Stenson and several other golfers who thought their futures were paved with Saudi gold but now find themselves effectively in the wilderness.

Even more surprising is the decision by Laurie Canter to return to LIV. You will recall that he was cut loose at the start of 2024 and returned to the DP World Tour with some pretty strong things to say about his experience. 

He enjoyed a hugely successful spell on the DP World Tour and finished the 2025 season having gained one of the 10 coveted PGA Tour cards. Astonishingly, instead of taking up the option to play in America, Canter has revealed that he is going back to LIV. When you consider that this would never have happened had it not been for what he has achieved on the DP World Tour over the past 18 months or so, this amounts to a proper slap in the face. It is, to say the very least, a very disappointing and utterly baffling decision.