LIV Golf Pro Carlos Ortiz Admits Losing His PGA Tour Card Was the Best Thing That Ever Happened

Carlos Ortiz Reveals the TRUTH Behind Mito Pereira’s Shock Relegation 😳 | LIV Golf 2025 Drama

Forgiving its system can be.
Torque GC star Carlos Ortiz opens up like never before about teammate Mito Pereira’s shocking relegation, the emotional toll behind the scenes, and what it truly takes to survive in a league where one bad season ends your career. 😳⛳

In this deep-dive, we break down the full story behind Pereira’s fall into the 2025 LIV Golf Drop Zone after finishing 51st — and how Ortiz’s personal journey from losing his PGA Tour card to rising again gives this moment a painful meaning.

Ortiz watched his teammates Joaquin Niemann and Sebastián Muñoz thrive while Pereira struggled. Torque GC even won the team event in Indianapolis… while Mito’s T36 finish sealed his fate. Yet, Pereira’s reaction showed pure class and heartbreak only players understand.

But this story is bigger than one player.
LIV Golf’s relegation system is far harsher than the PGA Tour.
Only 44% of players keep guaranteed spots. Major champions aren’t safe. Careers end fast. Mental pressure skyrockets.

And Ortiz explains it clearly:

“You get exposed every week. One bad season and you’re relegated.”

This video covers everything:

📌 Why LIV Golf’s relegation system is so unforgiving
📌 Ortiz’s emotional reaction to Pereira’s Drop Zone finish
📌 How Ortiz’s own PGA Tour downfall shaped his perspective
📌 What makes Torque GC feel like a family
📌 The brutal stats behind psychological stress in pro golf
📌 How Pereira can fight his way back into LIV Golf in 2026
📌 Why Ortiz believes relegation ‘can happen to anyone’

🎙️ This is a story of pressure, resilience, and the mental battle golfers never show publicly.

👇 Comment below:
Do you think LIV Golf’s relegation system is too harsh — or exactly how pro golf should be?

#LIVGolf #CarlosOrtiz #MitoPereira #TorqueGC #GolfNews #PGATour #GolfLife #GolfDrama #Golf2025 #SportsNews #GolfHighlights #GolfTalk #ProfessionalGolf

Tour GC isn’t just a team, it’s a family. Carlos Ortiz has said it repeatedly, and in 2025, that truth hit him harder than ever. Watching a teammate struggle isn’t the same as watching a rival fall. When Meito Pereira slipped into the LIV golf drop zone and lost a spot in the league, it felt personal. Pereira finished 51st in the season standings, ending his 2-year LIIV run. Ortiz opened up about the heartbreak and his own comeback journey during an appearance on the Flushing It Golf podcast with Tom Hobbs in November 2025. The conversation revealed a perspective most struggling golfers keep hidden. The season hadn’t been kind to Pereira. He managed just one points finish. K13 in Chicago worth 4.5 points. Meanwhile, his teammates soared. We Neman finished second. Sebastian Moz placed fourth. Ortiz himself secured eighth, marking the best LIIV season of his career. The contrast became even sharper in Indianapolis. Torque GC won the team event, but Pereira finished T36, sealing his relegation. Yet, he handled the blow with admirable grace. To be honest, I was really happy for Sebastian, really happy for Jooko, really happy for Carlos, Pereira said after the final round. It’s never easy to play bad, but I tried. I gave my best and we move on. Hopefully, I’ll have more opportunities in the future. Ortiz understood the pain all too well. He had lived it himself. Back in 2016, after two seasons on the PGA Tour, he failed to keep his card. He’d barely survived the season before, finishing 93rd in the FedEx Cup to stay afloat. But the next year, everything unraveled and he was sent back to the corn ferry tour. “We’re like a family,” Ortiz said. “You don’t ever want to see a friend of yours struggling like that. Many players see the corn ferry tour as a demotion. Some never recover from it.” Ortiz eventually realized it was the opposite. Between 2017 and 2018, he fought his way through the grind. He made 36 cuts in 47 starts, collected 11 top, 25 finishes in 2018, and reclaimed his PGA tour card. Cornferryy was the best thing to happen to me, he said. When you’re having a bad time, that really shows you what you’re made of. Ortiz had tasted success before. He won three corn ferry events in 2014 and earned player of the year honors. That fast track to the PGA Tour felt effortless. Losing it all taught him far more. Those moments show you what you’re made of. He said those moments test whether you’re really prepared or not. His comeback prove the point. After returning in 2018, Ortiz claimed the 2020 Vivant Houston Open, becoming the first Mexican to win on the PGA Tour since 1978. His earnings climbed, his confidence soared, and in LIIV Golf, he reached new heights. An eighth place finish in 2025 with 99.25 points and a career best T4 at the US Open at Oakmont, the highest major finish ever by Mexican golfer. Golf demands excellence every single week and the relegation systems across major tours reflect that that Elivy Golf divides players into three zones. Lock zone 1 to 24 guaranteed contracts. Open zone 25 to 48 free agents if contracts expire. Drop zone 49 plus automatic relegation. The system is ruthless. Former major champions aren’t exempt. Henrik Stinson, the 2016 Open winner, finished 49th and dropped out. Andy Ogeltry ended up 50th. Eubine Jen finished 53rd. Frederick Jetrop and Anthony Kim tied at 55th. Kim didn’t earn a single point in 23 events across two seasons. The PGA Tour, by comparison, is far more forgiving. Currently, the top 125 players keep their cards. That number will fall to 100 in 2026, the first cut since 1983. Still, around 80% of card holders retain status each season. On LIIV, only 44% stay safe in a lock zone. You get tested every week and you get exposed every week. Ortiz said you can’t afford to really have one bad season and you’re relegated. Ortiz understands both sides. He lost his PGA tour card. He watched Pereira lose his LIIV spot. The emotional toll is immense. Professional golfers face unique pressures, extended travel, financial uncertainty, and relentless expectations. Data from challenge tour players shows 51.7% experience psychological distress. Three times the general population, 10.3% show depression symptoms. You can’t afford to be distracted or tease warned. You have to be delicate with your changes, your environment, your confidence. Relegation isn’t a death sentence. Pereira can fight his way back through the International Series or Elivy’s promotions tournament. The ladder exists, but the climb is steep. Ortiz proved it’s possible. He went from losing everything to building something stronger. It can happen to anyone. He said it can happen to someone every year.