LIV Golf executives say changes are coming. Here’s how it looks

LIV Golf’s CEO said “remake,” another member of the league’s C-suite said “evolution,” and the word choices may have pleased everyone, regardless of where one falls in the polarizing league.

For LIV advocates, such a change is welcome. For them, it’s noise. It’s momentum. He signals a move up the league a month into his fifth season..

Then again, fixes can also be seen as corrections. Like despair. Remember that LIV continues to struggle to find a foothold in the US, one of its stars migrated back to the rival PGA TourAND several others may follow.

Or they can stick around. After all, the remake and evolution are well on their way.

Below are the details revealed Wednesday at an LIV season preview session that featured four LIV executives – CEO Scott O’Neil; Chris Heck, president, business operations; Ross Hallett, executive vice president, events manager; and Katie O’Reilly, executive vice president, team business operations.

More discounted players?

As a means of getting Official World Golf Ranking points for his events and then his players, O’Neil hinted that more LIV pros could be dropped at the end of the season. Last year, LIV’s in-season points race worked like this: 24 players were in what’s called the Block Zone and are safe; 24 players were in the Open Zone, where they face potential releases or trades; and nine players were in the Drop Zone, which means what it says.

“You’re going to see an Expanded Lock Zone, an expanded Drop Zone this year,” O’Neil said, “which as we’re working toward the world rankings, we think there are some things, some changes that you’ll see in ’26 that I think help our case and continue to give us more hope that this will happen.”

What does this mean? Over the past few months, LIV has taken other steps to earn OWGR points. She extended her tour length from 54 holes to 72. It boosted the league’s qualifications through the Asian Tour-based International Series and its Promotions event. The reasoning? Points mean more paths to major championships – and more appeal to join LIV or stay.

Did O’Neil see progress with the LIV application? He said he talked regularly with the chairman of OWGR Trevor Immelman and that the hope is to hear the decision before the start of the season.

“I’ve said it publicly 100 times,” O’Neil said, “but I’ll just say it again: I think he has the hardest job in the world. Think about his board. As a CEO for a long time, I’ve had different boards, and they all come with their own complexities. It’s made up of the PGA Tour, four top DP people, some top DP people, on the DP Tour, others on the DP Tour. We have a lot to gain by get world ranking points.

“Trevor has to put together — he’s got that complexity. He’s got the complexity of where the rankings are today, where some of the biggest players in the world are in that ranking system and they’re playing in LIV. We’re trying to tilt — we’re all trying to tilt as quickly as we can and as much as we can, keeping the integrity light and making sure we get the quick and sure decision in the league.”

Do the rules change?

O’Neil spoke briefly about it, saying the rule changes will come after talks with the USGA and R&A. He also said that the LIV rules committee had been “redone” and that there would be some new rules officials this year.

What does this mean? The thinking here is that the LIV will adopt some of the new Model Local Rules. The PGA Tour did this recently, and you can read about it here here.

A ‘complete revamp’ of broadcast TV?

This came from Heck, who said this:

“Our telecast, we have a complete change. We think there are two stories to tell. We believe the stories being told may have been difficult to follow in the past, so we’re going to make a very conscious effort to focus on two stories: one on the individual golfer, two on team golf. So you’ll see almost like a color-coded broadcast and they won’t get confused on the same page in the same time.

“There are two stories, because there are two champions, at the end of the week. We’re super excited. We think the fourth day of golf for us is giving us a platform to tell our stories a little better and a little cleaner. We’re super focused and excited for what’s to come.”

What does this mean? Previously, individual and team scores were listed on a leaderboard on the side of the screen. Now? We’ll find out when the LIV season starts next month, though we may have gotten a preview from last week’s LIV Promotions event, where the leaderboard was smaller and the last names were all written out. Notably, according to a story written by Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter (which you can read here), James Watson, LIV’s senior vice president – worldwide production, has left the league.

Bigger bags?

Prize money is rising. This season, the events will have purses of $30 million, with $22 million going to the individual races and the rest to the team race. Last year, $25 million was available.

What does this mean? Money, money, money.

DP World Tour resolution?

LIV players also currently play DP World Tour events – but the former European Tour suspends and fines players who play in LIV tournaments, so LIV pros either respect the penalties or take their case to court. The latter is what Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have done — and while awaiting a decision, they have played in DP World Tour events and qualified for the European Ryder Cup team.

On Wednesday, a reporter asked O’Neil if he hoped there was a solution “so the guys could go play in Europe without facing those penalties,” and O’Neil said just that:

“I would just say that there is an active dialogue going on, so I would prefer not to comment further.”

What does this mean? Success would be a huge win for LIV. But if the DP World Tour continues to penalize LIV pros, Rahm and Hatton’s (and others’) Ryder Cup futures may be in doubt.

Open national pursuit?

This came from O’Neil, who said this:

“What you’re going to see over the next few years is the remaking and reshaping of the International Series and working with the incredible relationships, some of the gifted and talented people in the golf federations around the world on an open national strategy. Again, more to come over time. You’ll likely see four or five or six come this year, but if you’re 20 years older, open 2-to-1 national. It’s going to become the National Series. International.

“The reason is because we believe national openings will drive more fans, drive more viewership and drive more people to this great game.”

What does this mean? Potentially more trails in major directions. In August, the Masters and Open Championship announced it was giving exceptions for the winners of six national openings, and you wonder if more could be handed out. Recently, some players have also expressed their love for the national opening.

This came from Heck, who said this:

“We have an elite, if not elite, schedule that we will be announcing soon. We have a number of iconic global brands that will align with LIV Golf and it’s super exciting. We’re on a path that I don’t think has been matched, to be honest with you, at least in my 30-year career.”

What does this mean? LIV has broken some with sponsors, as many objected at first. The league continues to be largely supported by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.

Team changes?

During the offseason, three of LIV’s 13 teams either changed names or changed its look: The Iron Heads GC became the Korean Golf Club; Stinger Golf Club became Southern Guards GC; and the Majesticks changed their image to a more British theme. Some LIV teams are made up entirely of players from certain areas of the world, and O’Reilly said the team’s recent moves highlight that.

“We’re lucky enough to have guys and players representing who grew up in those cultures, so they really live and breathe them,” she said. “We wanted to make sure our team brands really only brought to life the beauty of all cultures and global identities around the world and tied into our beautiful arc at LIV Golf.”

What does this mean? Links help support the team, and LIV has worked on that. But it also depends on who enters the league.

Any reaction to Brooks Koepka’s departure and return to the PGA Tour?

On Dec. 23, LIV announced that Brooks Koepka was leaving the tour — and on Monday, the PGA Tour said he was rejoining the circuit. O’Neil spoke at length on the move and to read his comments please click here.

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