LIV Golf Indy is done and dusted and with it is the individual season. It was a tense finish, but who was dumped from the league?
It was a dramatic end to the LIV Golf season at the top end of the standings – and there were plenty of storylines at the other end, too.
The league’s 54 players teed up at Chatham Hills for LIV Golf Indy and the final regular event of the season.
Now, the planning for 2026 can begin. But who won’t be part of the league any more?
But first…
How does it work?
It’s getting interesting at the top of the LIV Golf standings, where it will be a straight shootout between Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm for the $18 million first prize.
But when the curtain comes down in Indianapolis, only the top 24 will be guaranteed their place next season in what is known as the Lock Zone.
Below that, players from 25th to 48th in the standings are in the Open Zone, meaning they can be re-signed by their teams if out of contract or continue competing for the franchise they are attached to if their existing deal includes the 2026 season. They can also be traded from one team to another or be released if their contract has expired. The jeopardy is real.
The Drop Zone is fairly self-explanatory. Players who find themselves 49th or below are relegated out of the league – and this year that’s putting some of the league’s biggest signings at risk.
Even captains are not totally immune from being ousted. Ian Poulter, one of Majesticks GC’s captains, currently finds himself in 52nd position and facing relegation after the rules that would have previously protected him were changed. His fellow skippers Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson, meanwhile, are also sitting precariously just above the Drop Zone.
Only the top 24 finishers from the field of 54 players earn points at each regular season event, so Poulter will need to produce the goods if he is to have any chance of avoiding relegation.
What happened at LIV Golf Indy?
A number of big names finished in the Open Zone – notably Tyrrell Hatton, Richard Bland, Branden Grace, Graeme McDowell. But we don’t expect any of them to be dropped from their respective teams.
But it was the battle to not finish in the Drop Zone that created the most tension.
Remarkably, all three Majesticks GC co-captains were in danger of losing their place in the league. Lee Westwood went to Indianapolis in 46th, Henrik Stenson in 48th and Ian Poulter on the wrong side of the red line in 52nd.
But in a dramatic finish on Sunday, Poulter pulled off four birdies in five holes to climb up to a tie for 22nd and drop his teammate Henrik Stenson into the bottom six.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the Majesticks team room tonight.
Who was relegated at the end of the 2025 LIV Golf season? POSITIONPLAYERTEAMPOINTS49Henrik StensonMajesticks GC6.1250Andy OgletreeHyFlyers GC5.5351Mito PereiraTorque GC5.1052Yubin JangIron Heads GC1.2853Anthony KimWildcard0.0054Frederik KjettrupCleeks Golf Club0.00
Other than the Majesticks’ in-house tussle, it’s safe to say the AK experiment has not worked, and it’s hard to imagine he’ll be back next year. Zero points, zero point.
If any of these six want to play in LIV Golf 2026, they can earn their way back in via the International Series on the Asian Tour or via the Promotions Event.
About the author
Golf writer and wannabe darts player.
