Overview
- LIV confirmed it will abandon its 54-hole identity and run 72-hole, four-day events starting in 2026, with team scoring retained and shotgun starts expected to continue.
- LIV expanded entry pathways for 2026 by doubling spots via the Asian Tour’s International Series and its Promotions event, which is set for January 8–11 at Black Diamond Ranch in Florida.
- A PGA Tour spokesperson said the Florida Promotions event is an unauthorized North American tournament and that participating members could face a yearlong suspension, with broadcast and image permissions denied.
- League leaders and several stars, including Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, framed the move as aligning with major-championship standards and enhancing the product, while critics argued LIV is shedding a core differentiator.
- OWGR recognition remains unresolved; Rory McIlroy called the change ‘peculiar’ and unlikely to be decisive, and analysts cautioned any points could be limited by strength-of-field, even as Asian Tour chief Cho Minn Thant said talks appear ‘very close.’