LIV Golf Clarifies Relegation Rules That Put Big Names at Risk

In a bizarre twist, as the individual season finale of LIV Golf teed off over the weekend in Chicago, it turns out that team captains on the circuit are subject to relegation.

When the rules were announced last year, LIV said that those outside the top 48 in the standings would be relegated and forced to attempt to re-qualify for the following season. LIV did not announce any changes to the plan for this year. Media reports during the season used what everyone believed to be the existing rules, saying that struggling team captains like Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, and Ian Poulter were exempt from relegation.

However, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

The LIV Golf League is today highlighting that all captains are eligible for relegation, including Bubba Watson, who is currently inside the ‘Drop Zone’.

This will add a lot of drama to the Individual Championship and is a huge addition to the context of the league ahead of the… https://t.co/vp0IFZOHd9

— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) September 12, 2024

LIV Golf released its relegation rules before this past weekend’s Chicago tournament. It states that captains are eligible to be bounced from the circuit. Going into this last individual event of the season, here’s where the notable names stand:

1. Phil Mickelson: 11.93 points
2. Ian Poulter: 9.22
3. Harold Varner III: 8.25
4. Pat Perez: 7.76
5. Scott Vincent: 5.90
6. Branden Grace: 4.42
7. Bubba Watson: 3.66

Relegation looms 📉

It’s time to turn it on heading into the second half of the season 😤#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/Y5pHVMEt3F

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) June 9, 2024

LIV only pays points to the top 24 finishers of each event, with Nos. 21-24 earning one point, Nos. 18-20 earning two, Nos. 16 and 17 get three, and it goes up from there. So it’s unlikely that Mickelson and Poulter will be passed by enough people to be relegated. But Watson will be done with a finish worse than 14th, and his best finish of the season is at 15th in the season’s second event.

There is a caveat for a “business case” to be made for any relegated player. Also, Anthony Kim and Hudson Swafford were wild-card players this season, and LIV says they are not subject to relegation and could be signed as free agents.

Cover Image via Mayakoba