LIV Golf's changes, explained: 10 shocking exits, signings, rules, more

Brooks Koepka, as you’ve likely heard, will not be playing on LIV Golf this year.

Nor will Patrick Reed. In fact, the week ahead of LIV’s 2026 debut — which kicks off Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — has been dominated by news about who’s missing.

There was Koepka’s PGA Tour return and Reed’s surprising exit. There was the quieter reinstatement of Pat Perez and Hudson Swafford (for Jan. 2027) plus Kevin Na (timeline slightly more mysterious).

There was even Jinichiro Kozuma, whose exit raised eyebrows at the OWGR because he was passed over for the rebranded Korean GC despite a respectable 32nd-place finish in LIV’s standings — apparently due to his nationality. (No other player better than 40th was dropped.)

Two other big-name pros will miss LIV’s first two events of the year, too: Phil Mickelson said he’s out dealing with a family health matter, while Lee Westwood is recovering from a wrist injury.

But the show goes on. Who will be playing? You can start with Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith, the league’s three most recent major champs. That trio was not-so-subtly invited back to the PGA Tour as part of Koepka’s re-assimilation, but all three remain under LIV contract and will therefore begin the year playing in the Nafud desert rather than the Sonoran.

There are new names to replace the old, too: several pros are preparing to tee it up on LIV for the first time. Reigning NCAA champ Michael La Sasso made his first media appearance on Tuesday in Riyadh. New captain Ben An said it feels like the first day of school. Reed has been temporarily replaced. Koepka passed his captaincy to Talor Gooch. There are new team names, familiar faces, notable departures and more.

There remain plenty of questions around the league’s future, around the trajectory of its stars, its teams its format and its identity. We’ll tackle those in due time. But as the eve of its fifth season it’s worth taking stock of who’s playing LIV, what’s changed and what’s next. Here are 10 changes shaping the league entering 2026.

What’s new on LIV for 2026?

1. More holes.

The league is going to 72-hole events this year, up from 54. The move has earned some praise but skepticism, too; some players, including, notably, Bryson DeChambeau have wondered why LIV is straying from its original identity and giving up something that made it truly different.

2. More points.

LIV is getting OWGR points. That’s unquestionably a step forward for its players, who can now earn points for top-10 finishes on the circuit. But in the league’s latest lash-out at golf’s establishment, it issued a response suggesting it’s less than pleased with that outcome.

The OWGR, meanwhile, spelled out its concerns with the league’s format and, despite awarding points, also said re-evaluation “could result in an increase in points, a decrease in points or removal from the system altogether.” This story is still just beginning.

3. More players.

Like last year, there are 13 teams of four players each. But in 2026 LIV has five “wild cards” instead of just two, which means there are 57 players instead of 54.

These wild-card positions are a strange league feature. There are 52 players on teams, which is the league’s focal point, and then there are five guys who are … also there? But there’s an explanation for their existence: For OWGR consideration, LIV needed to show there are ways to play your way into the league. But LIV didn’t want to force teams to take players from these pathways. So even though you can play your way onto LIV, being in the league doesn’t guarantee you’ll actually end up on a team.

There are five open lanes into LIV: two via the International Series and three via Promotions. None of those five players was signed to a team, which means they’ll play as the five wild cards.

4. New team names.

Two teams rebranded: Iron Heads GC became Korean GC and Stinger GC became Southern Guards GC.

5. New team identities.

Several teams have consolidated around different national or regional identities. Korean GC is (you guessed it) all-Korean, Southern Guards GC is all-South African, Ripper GC is all-Australian, the Majesticks are all-English, Fireballs GC is all-Spanish, the Hy Flyers are all-American and Torque is all-Latin.

6. New captains.

Talor Gooch replaced Brooks Koepka as captain of Smash GC, while Ben An is captain of Korean GC, replacing Kevin Na.

7. New players arriving.

Ten players are joining the league as full-time players for the first time, although two (Minkyu Kim and Younghan Song of Korean GC) have appeared on LIV before.

Michael La Sasso is the lone American addition this offseason and arguably the buzziest signing; Phil Mickelson plucked the reigning NCAA champion for his Hy Flyers.

Victor Perez is joining the Cleeks after a season on the PGA Tour in which he finished outside full status.

Thomas Detry is joining the 4 Aces, joining captain Dustin Johnson and fellow Belgian (and fellow Thomas) Thomas Pieters. He’s also the defending champ at this week’s WM Phoenix Open, making his debut in Riyadh particularly noteworthy.

Elvis Smylie is joining Ripper GC, a strong young addition to an all-Aussie squad.

Ben An, Minkyu Kim and Younghan Song are joining Danny Lee on Korean GC, all three were signed from free agency.

And three new golfers will play as wild cards: Yosuke Asaji, Bjorn Hellgren and Richard Lee.

8. Former players leaving.

Who’s left LIV?

Six players got relegated from last season: Henrik Stenson, Andy Ogletree, Mito Pereira, Jubin Yang, Frederik Kjettrup and Anthony Kim. Those first five are off LIV; more on Kim in a moment.

Two more left of their own accord: the aforementioned Koepka and Reed.

Kevin Na left under somewhat mysterious circumstances, losing his Iron Heads captaincy in the process. His teammate Jinichiro Kozuma found out via social media that he, too, had been replaced.

Matt Jones was left on the waiver wire in free agency as his Ripper team found his replacement.

And Chieh-po Lee, who played as a wild card in 2025, didn’t get picked up by a team or by the league.

Wade Ormsby, Ollie Schniederjans, Max Rotluff and John Catlin also played as reserves in 2025; none are on a full-time roster for 2026.

9. Former players returning.

I thought the most impressive individual offseason performance came from Anthony Kim. You’ve likely seen Kim’s story and heard about his return after a 12-year hiatus from pro golf — but until this offseason he was a curiosity more than a competitor. When he was relegated from the league after scoring zero points all season, his professional future seemed uncertain at best.

Then Kim played his way through the Promotions event, which required several low rounds in a row. He’s now earned the spot he’d been given the last two seasons; now he’ll look to prove it.

He’s not the only LIV player to earn his way back; Scott Vincent, who played three previous LIV seasons, is back after winning the International Series.

Laurie Canter had played LIV early on before returning to the DP World Tour; he was set for a PGA Tour card for 2026 before joining the Majesticks in Stenson’s spot.

Luis Masaveu played as a reserve in 2025; he finished in the “drop zone” but was spared relegation because he only played eight events. He’s now a full-time member of Fireballs GC.

And Harold Varner III, who’d been playing for the Aces, signed with Smash GC to slide into Koepka’s spot.

10. Players filling in.

DP World Tour Ben Schmidt is replacing the injured Lee Westwood on the Majesticks.

Ollie Schniederjans is filling in for Phil Mickelson on the HyFlyers.

And Asian Tour player Miguel Tabuena is filling in as the fourth “Ace” after Patrick Reed’s late departure.

All three appear to be temporary replacements; there are still only three Aces listed on LIV’s website. That means there’s one more announcement to come before the league’s 2026 roster is complete.

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