9 big names in danger of being relegated from LIV Golf
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With just one event remaining on the regular LIV Golf 2025 season, the battle to avoid being dumped from the league is ramping up…
There are some big names in danger of losing their LIV Golf status in the next couple of months.
The league’s 54 players will head to The Club at Chatham Hills for LIV Golf Indianapolis for the final regular event of the season.
After that, the planning for 2026 begins…
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.
9 big names who could lose their LIV Golf status next season
Team captains Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Louis Oosthuizen, and Martin Kaymer are all in the Open Zone, but cannot fall into the Drop Zone due to their existing points tallies.
So let’s look at a handful of players who are in the Open Zone and in danger of being released…
34. Graeme McDowell (35.77 points)
Could – and perhaps should – have got his maiden LIV victory in Virginia. That would have all but sealed another season for the former US Open champ. As it is, he’ll be looking over his shoulder as Brooks Koepka looks to rebuild his Smash GC squad in the offseason.
35. Branden Grace (34.43 points)
They famously don’t do halfway cuts on LIV – mainly because there isn’t a halfway – but if they did it would be safe to say Grace would not have banked much this season based on his lowly finishes. A T5 in Chicago to help Stinger GC to glory may just be enough to save the South African.
38. Peter Uihlein (23.11 points)
An ever-present on LIV Golf since the league’s inauguration, Uihlein is now a RangeGoat and his T10 in Chicago was only his second top-10 of the season.
42. Matt Wolff (17.33 points)
Moved to RangeGoats to get away from Brooks Koepka and his recent form reads WD-DNP-DNP-53-T29. Ironically, might just save Uihlein from the chop as a result.
44. Kevin Na (10.06 points)
The Iron Heads skipper has had three top-20s this season; the rest have all been the equivalent of missing the cut by a mile. Utterly dreadful. But he’ll be fine because he’s the captain and all that.
47. Lee Westwood (7.20 points)
It was fun watching him qualify for and then compete in The Open, but the Majesticks co-captain is currently just two places above the Drop Zone. Even the return of a friendly face on his bag didn’t help him in Chicago, where he finished T39.
48. Henrik Stenson (5.52 points)
Westwood’s fellow co-captain is one place below him and in serious danger of falling into the Drop Zone. Speaking of which…
Most of the Drop Zone is made up of reserve players, but full-timers Mito Pereira, Andy Ogletree, Yubin Yang and Frederik Kjettrup are also in there.
As well as two rather notable names…
52. Ian Poulter (4.50 points)
Completing the Majesticks hat-trick – and on the wrong side of the Drop Zone line – is that man Poults. Honestly, what happened to these guys? Poulter has earned points in just one event this year – a T13 in Korea – and half of his finishes have been outside the top 40.
55. Anthony Kim (0.00 points)
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.
