LIV Golf will have a different feel during next week’s season-opener in Riyadh…
LIV Golf have confirmed some more tweaks to the league’s format for the 2026 season.
The breakaway league turned heads in November when chief executive Scott O’Neil announced LIV would be moving in line with the traditional tours by extending events to 72 holes.
LIV takes its number from the Roman numeral 54 and the unconventional three-round format was seen as a fundamental differential from the established circuits.
The league hopes that some offseason moves will have helped boost the chances of gaining Official World Golf Ranking accreditation.
“The most successful leagues around the world – IPL, EPL, NBA, MLB, NFL – continue to innovate and evolve their product,” O’Neil argued, “and as an emerging league, we are no different.”
Now, the league has confirmed several other offseason moves which had long been rumored ahead of next week’s season-opener in Riyadh. Here’s what’s changed for 2026…
More relegation
LIV has made changes to its Lock Zone, Open Zone and Drop Zone for the 2026 season.
The Lock Zone, made up of players who have secured their place for the following year, has increased to 34 players, an increase of 10 in an expanded 57-player field for 2026.
With the Open Zone reduced from 24 spots to 12, there are now 11 relegation spots, which is approximately 20% of the field. Henrik Stenson was the biggest of six names relegated last season, but there is far more jeopardy this year as LIV looks to increase player turnover and meritocratic pathways into the league. Players who finish from 47-57 will in the individual standings will lose their place on the league.
New points system
The points system which saw Joaquin Niemann denied the LIV individual title in 2025 – despite winning five of the 13 tournaments – has been completely revamped.
LIV says that a revised structure that increases the number of points distributed is designed to “better reflect consistent, high-level performance over the course of the season, while also recognizing the importance of individual contributions to team results each week.”
An individual victory will therefore carry more weight in the overall standings than it did last year.
Increased prize money
LIV will double its team prize payouts from $5 million to $10 million in 2026.
And rather than only the top three teams receiving payouts, all 13 teams will now earn prize money across the 13 regular season events – based on their finishing position.
Individual prize money will also increase, with LIV introducing a new $2.3 million per-event prize pool in 2026. The league says this will reward individual player performances within podium-finishing teams.
“Moving to 72 holes, expanding the field, increasing relegation, updated our points system and enhancing our investment in teams all reflect the same principle: if you perform week-in and week-out, individually and as part of a team, the performance matters,” O’Neil said.
“We believe this evolution makes LIV Golf more competitive, more transparent, and ultimately, more exciting for players, teams and fans around the world.”
