LIV Golf reveals 2024 plans after PGA Tour merger remains unclear
The merger agreement between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and the PIF (LIV Golf financers) was announced in June 2023. The deal's framework is expected to be laid out by the end of this year.
With the team championship in Miami already underway, LIV Golf will now look forward to its third season. While their future remains under a shadow, there are speculations aplenty about what the future holds.
However, news has come in that the merger deal between the three tours remains unclear. The executives of LIV Golf have come forward to draw a rough sketch of what their third season could look like. There is still a big question about whether they would retain the marquee players or have more teams in the coming season.
After announcing the relegation rule, which was implemented after the end of the Jeddah Invitational, four spots were left empty. Chase Koepka, Jed Morgan, James Piot, and Sihwan Kim were partly released after they finished in the bottom four of the season-long individual standings.
Also, the LIV Golf league believes that around four to eight players who have finished between the 25th to 44th rank will be released or not retained by the teams in the 2024 season. Henceforth, they are planning a new qualifying school event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club later this December.
What could the LIV Golf's upcoming 2024 season look like?
Except for the players who finished in the top 24 or the 'lock zone', there are high chances that around 10 to 12 spots will remain empty before the Abu Dhabi Golf Club Promotional event. Along with the four relegated players, a few more might join them to get a spot in the upcoming series at the qualifying school event.
The players who can participate in the LIV Abu Dhabi GC Promotional event are already out and now, it is just a matter of time to see who gets a berth in the 2024 season.
The new qualifying school event will be held from December 8 to 12 and will be a 72-hole stroke play competition. It will have a prize pool of $1.5 million. The players eliminated in the first round will receive $5,000; the players eliminated in the second round will receive $10,000; and at least $17,500 will be awarded to the players who qualify for the final round.
LIV Golf's acting chief operating officer Gary Davidson also revealed that a 'nominal entry fee' will be charged to each and every participant in the upcoming LIV Abu Dhabi GC Promotional event.
There are possibilities for other DP World Tour or PGA Tour golfers to join the league, just like the first few players joined during LIV Golf's inception.
Gary Davidson also hinted that there was a minimal chance of increasing a team or two to accommodate more players, if signed, in the upcoming season.