LIV Golf’s decision to adopt a 72-hole format starting in 2026 has reignited debate across the professional golf world.
And while some see it as a strategic move to align more closely with traditional tours, Ryder Cup veteran Paul McGinley believes it signals something deeper.
McGinley, who captained Team Europe to a dominant Ryder Cup victory in 2014 at Gleneagles, didn’t mince words when asked about LIV’s evolving structure.
“I don’t know if it’s that big a deal,” he told the Bunkered. “I think the self-perpetuating thing is an issue with the world rankings – 54 players playing, all sharing points among themselves. There’s obviously two or three elite players on there that seem to be coming in the top three every single week that they play, which they wouldn’t be doing if they were playing on the PGA Tour which is a lot deeper in terms of talent.”
McGinley added, “There’ll have to be an algorithm and a formula. It’ll probably come out that there will be a lot less points available on LIV events than there will be on the PGA Tour. The depth of the PGA Tour fields, even the smaller fields of 70 players, the depth of those is much, much stronger than the depth of LIV.”
Still, the former Ryder Cup winner acknowledged that LIV’s players are gaining traction in major championship pathways.
“There will be a small amount of points available. Events like last week (Hong Kong) and now that the Masters as well as the R&A have opened up a number of International Series events for qualification, that gives the players a great opportunity to still qualify and get into majors.”
That’s already playing out. Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin won the Hong Kong Open, securing his spot in the 2026 Masters and US Open. The 22-year-old’s rapid rise and multimillion-dollar earnings have become a case study in LIV’s appeal.
“Then when you get into them, it’s a question of playing well in them and maybe trying to win one and get yourself a five-year exemption to all of the majors,” McGinley told Bunkered.
“The writing’s on the wall that it’s going to be a matter of time before LIV do get points. It’s a legitimate competitor for both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. Because of the huge amount of money that’s put in front of the players and relatively weak fields, the opportunity to make a lot of money is very, very clear. I think they’re a legitimate threat and they’re a legitimate competitor to the DP and the PGA Tours.”
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McGinley also reflected on the DP World Tour’s strategic alliance with the PGA Tour, calling it a “safe bet” amid the exodus of players to LIV.
“The PGA Tour is always going to be there and that’s why the DP World Tour decided to have a strategic alliance with them. When you’re trying to secure your future and you’re having to look after the guys that were left behind after a lot went to LIV, the board of the DP World Tour had to take a safe bet and the PGA Tour pathway was a very safe bet. They gave a phenomenal financial deal to the DP World Tour. In time, that will be proved to be a very prudent and smart move.”
“But to answer your question,” McGinley concluded, “I think LIV is a legit competitor to the two established tours at the moment. It‘s becoming more appealing as pathways are opening up to get into major championships and guys like Tom McKibbin jump over and hit the ground running and make many, many millions of dollars.”
With major qualification routes growing and the 72-hole format finally becoming official, LIV Golf appears to be very close to earning the OWGR points it had been aiming for since its founding in 2022. And, as McGinley points out, the traditional tours might require more than just algorithms and alliances to survive.
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