LIV Golf 2026: Bigger, longer, and under the lights in Riyadh
A 72-hole reset, a deeper field, and a season that starts at night, with LIV still fighting the same legitimacy battle.
The league in 2026: what’s changed, what hasn’t
LIV Golf heads into 2026 with a clear message: this is a “proper” season now. Four rounds. 72 holes. The same shotgun-start theatre, but stretched to match what golf’s establishment expects. LIV says the switch is part of its “next phase of growth” and keeps the team-and-individual format intact.
The calendar is also pushing harder on “global”. Fourteen events across 10 countries and five continents, with a first-ever stop in South Africa (Steyn City) and the season beginning with a night-golf opener in Riyadh.
The field expands, too. LIV has confirmed 57 players in regular events: 13 teams plus five wild cards, as the league widens its qualifying funnel.
The challenges LIV still can’t shake
Star churn at the top end. Brooks Koepka has stepped away and is pursuing a PGA Tour return, a notable reversal for a player LIV once framed as a centrepiece signing.
More exits, more noise. Patrick Reed has also left LIV, saying he intends to work back towards PGA Tour status.
Recruitment isn’t automatic anymore. Si Woo Kim, a prime-age PGA Tour winner, has turned down a LIV offer, per multiple reports, and in at least one account, he has acknowledged receiving it.
The legitimacy question remains. LIV’s move to 72 holes is widely viewed as part of the push towards world-ranking recognition, but format alignment alone doesn’t settle the issue.
However, we will soon find out, as the OWGR update is imminent and could change everything.
The positives: the business side keeps moving
LIV’s strongest argument has always been that it can keep paying and keep building. On that front, 2026 begins with tangible momentum:
UK & Ireland broadcast lift: TNT Sports (and discovery+) takes over in a multi-year deal, with all 14 events live.
Brand credibility: Rolex has signed on as an Official Partner, with a hospitality-focused global programme.
Sponsorship volume: LIV CEO Scott O’Neil has said the league added roughly $500m in sponsorship over a 10-month stretch (LIV’s side of the argument, but still notable).
Major-name partners: HSBC’s deal as a global partner and team sponsor (Crushers and Majesticks) signalled a more traditional sponsorship profile than the early days.
The net of it: 2026 looks more polished and more “normal”, even as LIV remains politically and structurally separate from the main tours.
Teams and players: short, factual 2026 roster snapshot
4Aces GC — Dustin Johnson (c), Thomas Pieters, Thomas Detry, TBC
Cleeks GC — Martin Kaymer (c), Richard Bland, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez
Crushers GC — Bryson DeChambeau (c), Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri
Fireballs GC — Sergio Garcia (c), Josele Ballester, David Puig, Luis Masaveu
HyFlyers GC — Phil Mickelson (c), Cameron Tringale, Brendan Steele, Michael La Sasso
Korean GC — Byeong-hun An (c), Danny Lee, Min-kyu Kim, Young-han Song
Legion XIII — Jon Rahm (c), Tyrrell Hatton, Caleb Surratt, Tom McKibbin
Majesticks GC — Lee Westwood (c), Ian Poulter (c), Sam Horsfield, Laurie Canter
RangeGoats GC — Bubba Watson (c), Peter Uihlein, Matt Wolff, Ben Campbell
Ripper GC — Cameron Smith (c), Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Elvis Smylie
Smash GC — Talor Gooch (c), Jason Kokrak, Graeme McDowell, Harold Varner III
Southern Guards GC — Louis Oosthuizen (c), Charl Schwartzel, Dean Burmester, Branden Grace
Torque GC — Joaquín Niemann (c), Carlos Ortiz, Sebastián Muñoz, Abraham Ancer
Wild cards (season entries): Scott Vincent, Yosuke Asaji, Richard T. Lee, Bjorn Hellgren, Anthony Kim
LIV Golf Riyadh preview: the season starts after dark
4–7 February, Riyadh Golf Club. LIV is leaning hard into the hook: all four rounds at night and the first outing of the new 72-hole era.
The course
Riyadh Golf Club is positioned by LIV as the “Pearl of the Desert”, and the event pitch is straightforward: cooler evening conditions for spectators, bright lights and a condensed, shotgun-start viewing experience.
What matters for players is how night golf changes the feel:
Less volatility in heat and sun exposure (often a factor in Saudi daytime golf).
Sharper sightlines for some, awkward depth perception for others under floodlights.
A premium on control into greens if the ball is travelling a touch differently in cooler air.
Recent LIV history in Riyadh
Riyadh is only staging the event for the second time in LIV’s run, but it already has a recent script: Adrian Meronk won last year’s opener, with Rahm and Muñoz close behind, and Legion XIII took the team title.
The 2026 storylines that start here
Bryson’s tone-setting job: as one of the main faces of LIV’s competitive credibility, he doesn’t need to win week one, but he can’t look flat in week one.
The new names test: Detry, Perez, Ballester, Masaveu and Smylie land in a league where adaptation speed matters because there’s no cut and points are always bleeding away.
Team shape matters immediately: four rounds means one bad day is survivable, but it also gives the deepest squads more time to separate.
Players and teams to watch in Riyadh
Teams
Legion XIII (Rahm/Hatton/Surratt/McKibbin): the most complete “week-to-week” unit on paper.
Torque GC (Niemann/Ortiz/Muñoz/Ancer): built for birdie runs and momentum golf.
Fireballs GC (Garcia/Puig plus two young additions): if it turns into an iron contest, this squad can get mean fast.
Southern Guards GC (Oosthuizen/Burmester/Schwartzel/Grace): quietly one of the steadier line-ups when conditions get uncomfortable.
Individuals
Jon Rahm: the market reflects it and so does LIV’s own marketing.
Bryson DeChambeau: if the setup gives him corridors, he can bully the course, mindset could be key for him this week.
David Puig: a proper “win equity” player at a price that still isn’t elite, but is trending in that direction.
Dean Burmester: serial contender profile in a league that rewards repeatable ball-striking.
Par and Paddock tips: LIV Golf Riyadh (Betfair)
Odds taken from Betfair’s Riyadh outright market (8 places EW, 1/5).
Shorter price
Jon Rahm — 7/2
He’s the safest blend of floor and ceiling in this field. Four rounds reduces the chances of a random 18-hole cold spell ruining the week, and Legion XIII’s structure tends to keep him in good positions.
Mid-price
Dean Burmester — 11/1
He’s priced in the second wave but has the profile of a player who can cash top-8s repeatedly in LIV conditions. If the winning score is built on controlled aggression rather than pure power, Burmester fits.
Outsider
Byeong-Hun An — 25/1
A proper “if it clicks, it wins” pick. The number is big enough to forgive a bit of LIV variance, and if the night setup turns it into a test of tee-to-green rhythm, he can hang around all week.
Team lean (for fans, not a bet slip): Legion XIII to start fast, and to look like the season’s measuring stick again.