What's happening with LIV Golf ahead of 2026 season?

It is golf’s silly season, with a series of exhibition events such as the Hero World Challenge, Grant Thornton Invitational and PNC Championship and players digging out their wheelbarrows to fill them with festive cash.

It’s also a time of year when there are endless rumours about who will be the next high-profile LIV signings. With the PGA Tour now awash with cash, making the move to the Saudi-backed golf league has become less attractive. And that surely means we are less likely to see any big-name defections.

The latest to be linked with LIV were Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im of South Korea. According to Tom Hobbs of Flushing It Golf, Kim was in "late-stage negotiations" to sign with LIV Golf. He is a four-time PGA Tour winner, including the 2017 Players Championship, and has played in the past three Presidents Cups. He's ranked 46th in the Official World Golf Ranking and finished inside the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings at the end of the 2025 season.

Kim made 30 starts, making 22 cuts with three top-10 finishes, his best being tied fourth at the season-ending RSM Classic. It now seems certain that Kim is not making the move, and Im has said there is zero chance of him leaving the PGA Tour. He took to Instagram to dismiss the claims as "fake news". 

We recently saw Laurie Canter and Victor Perez sign with LIV, but who could join them?

In November it was widely reported that Min Woo Lee was about to sign a LIV contract. He said: "There’s been a lot of rumours. I am not going to LIV and am just going to play on the PGA Tour. I am happy with where I am at and I am looking forward to next year."

It is entirely wrong that players have to keep dismissing these spurious claims. And you have to ask who it is that is starting them. It smacks of mischief making to me. All I will say is that LIV would definitely want to add some top players from the Far East to their roster for obvious commercial reasons. That is why Hideki Matsuyama has also been linked with them.

You will no doubt be aware that LIV has changed its tournament schedule for 2026, with its format being expanded from 54 to 72 holes for all events. It is a move that is clearly designed to secure world ranking points for its players. 

I have consistently said that LIV’s financial model makes absolutely no sense. 

The Saudis are pouring tens of millions of dollars into a circuit that shows no signs of ever being able to break even. The worry for those now plying their trade with LIV must surely be what happens if their paymasters lose interest. And I have to say that is more likely to happen if they fail to secure world ranking points. It means that some of their brightest young players will never get the opportunity to play in our sport’s four majors.

Growing up, they would all surely have stood over putts and said to themselves: "I have this putt to win The Open."

LIV’s chief executive is Scott O’Neil, who replaced the divisive Greg Norman earlier this year. His background is in the NHL and NBA and he has more than 25 years experience managing global sports and entertainment brands, but this is his first job golf. 

And he is optimistic that LIV’s latest application for world ranking points will be successful. I believe he is whistling in the wind.

Yes, they have gone from 54 to 72 holes but all their tournaments will still have limited fields and there will still be no 36-hole cut. In my mind, this is not proper competitive golf.

Gaining ranking points is going to be important for LIV moving forward. If they want to have any chance at all of attracting the biggest names then they are surely going to have to be able to guarantee ranking points.

O'Neil told BBC Sport: "We are working very closely with [chairman] Trevor Immelman and the board of OWGR. It's likely that will have an impact at some point. We are having conversations with Trevor, who is doing an extraordinary and difficult job towards a solution that we hope to have in place by next season. There are a whole host of things we are talking through."

He admits that LIV has sponsors and broadcast partners who want more television air-time. While we wait for a peace deal, it is clear that O’Neil has other priorities, namely the continued growth and expansion of LIV.

He went on to say: "The PGA Tour is a US-focused tour and they do an incredible job. I would say we're a global tour.

"It's very akin to Formula One and Indy Car. Indy Car is a wonder. I went to the Indianapolis 500 and it's an incredible experience and event. Formula One is different, though. It is a cultural experience. You have fashion, art, music and sport and world-class hospitality. It's in all the most important cities in the world and I think that's much more who we are and what we're about."

O’Neil has spoken with newly-appointed PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp but admits the reunification is not a priority for him.

He said: "I am focused on LIV Golf and taking the sport around the world. I think that we are all smart enough to figure out that we can also create bigger platforms to have some fun and grow this game together.

"I would say that if I were here for three years, I'd be thinking very differently. I think today what I'm looking at is a business with a strong foundation and incredible momentum and happy players, happy caddies and happy families of players.

"The players want to be here and I think that part is pretty special, but are there opportunities to come together? Of course and if there are prudent ones that make sense for LIV we'll do them."

I would take issue with his assertion that the players want to be there. Rumours persist that Brooks Koepka will be returning to the PGA Tour when his LIV contract expires, and there will surely be others now considering their futures.