Korean golfer Si Woo Kim is opting to remain on the PGA Tour despite a recent link to LIV Golf to fill the Saudi tour’s recently vacant open slots caused by relegation
Korean golfer Si Woo Kim is currently playing in the Crown Australian Open(Image: Getty Images)
When LIV Golf comes knocking — particularly with a large contract on the table — golfers often have their heads turned. However, former Players Championship Winner Si Woo Kim is set to turn down the Saudi league after flirting with a move in recent days.
After implementing the relegation system in 2025, LIV Golf needed to find replacements. Kim, a four-time PGA winner, was mooted as a potential option.
Korean outlet 1AEIL reported that LIV was looking for more Korean players on the circuit, therefore turning to Kim and Sung-jae Im as potential options. An official from Kim’s camp confirmed the report, but declared he will remain on the PGA Tour.
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“It is true that Kim Si-woo, like many Korean players, has been offered a recruitment. However, Kim Si-woo finally expressed his intention to refuse and decided to remain on the PGA Tour,” he said.
“It is not true at all to go to LIV Golf. We are focusing on preparing for the PGA Tour next season, and there is no change related to our future career path,” his management said.
Kim celebrates his 2017 Players Championsip win his his father(Image: Getty Images)
LIV’s 2025 relegation system saw popular faces in Henrik Stenson and Anthony Kim, among others, booted off the tour. Victor Perez of France and Rory Canter of England are two replacements who have already been named.
The lucrative Saudi league, still in talks with the PGA Tour for unification, is set to begin its fourth season in 2025. It still boasts plenty of star power with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and others.
Jon Rahm was the 2025 LIV Golf individual winner(Image: Getty Images)
Kim, 30, burst onto the PGA scene as a 21-year-old in 2016 with a win at the Wyndham Championship, making him (at 21) the youngest winner on the tour that season.
A year later, he captured The Players Championship with a strong -10 showing to best Louis Oosthuizen and Ian Poulter by three strokes.
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Kim has two more wins since: one stroke victory at the 2021 American Express Desert Classic (over Patrick Cantlay) and the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii (over Hayden Buckley).
Spanish golfer Jon Rahm was the 2025 LIV Golf winner as part of a dominant season for his team, Legion XIII. While Joaquim Niemann had the most individual winners, it was Rahm who bested him on total points.
“One could argue he was probably the more deserving guy to win this,” Rahm said after his win. “But we have the points system that we have, and somehow, I don’t know how, I managed to pull through and get it done.”
