While there is plenty to criticise LIV Golf for, one of the most interesting aspects of the league’s format was the idea that those who finish in the bottom places in the season standings would be relegated and lose their spot for the following year.
It seems to be imperative that LIV Golf has its drop zone if it is ever going to receive world ranking points. One of the big concerns was that LIV was going to be a closed shop for a number of players whose best years were well behind them.
Initially, captains were exempt from being relegated. However, more recently, they have been able to hold onto their place in the league only if their team is able to make a business case to LIV. Bubba Watson retained his spot as RangeGoats captain after finishing 53rd in 2024.
But any credibility that LIV had when it came to its relegation structure completely evaporated ahead of the 2025 season over one deal in particular.
The controversial deal which damaged LIV Golf’s credibility before the 2025 season
Branden Grace has been a world-class golfer for a number of years. He was the first player to ever shoot a round of 62 in a major, while he had five top six finishes in the sport’s four biggest events between 2015 and 2017. He also won a LIV event in Portland back in 2022.
However, the 2024 season was a poor one for the South African and he finished the year 51st in the standings. As he was not the captain of Stinger GC, it appeared that he was going to be relegated.
Interestingly, Grace entered into the qualifying event to try and earn a spot in the league for 2025.
Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images
He did not win. Nevertheless, it was announced shortly after that Grace had been re-signed by Stinger for the season. Louis Oosthuizen meanwhile claimed that Grace was the only player Stinger looked at to complete their team.
It made a complete mockery of the idea that relegation was an important part of LIV’s format. The league now has absolutely no right to try and build the tension over which players find themselves in the drop zone towards the end of this season.
And based on what has happened on the PGA Tour this year, that decision from LIV to allow Stinger to keep Grace looks even more baffling.
The PGA Tour needs to capitalise as Aldrich Potgieter shows LIV Golf what they should have targeted
Lineups like the one Stinger has are arguably important if the team element of LIV is ever going to take off. Supporters of South African golf will get behind them, in the same way that Ripper are the fan favourites at LIV Golf Adelaide each year, and the Iron Heads were in a similar position in Korea.
So Stinger were somewhat limited in terms of the pool of players they could pick from to replace Grace. However, both Garrick Higgo and Aldrich Potgieter have now won on the PGA Tour this year. Potgieter, in particular, looks to be a potential superstar with his incredible distance off the tee this season.
Credit PGA Tour
It would have surely been better for Stinger, and LIV, in the long run had they managed to sign a younger player like Higgo or Potgieter to replace Grace.
Perhaps the pair would have said no anyway. However, Oosthuizen’s comments about Grace staying hint that there was never any interest in signing anyone else, so they presumably did not even ask the question.
As things stand, Grace is 49th in the standings on LIV and just inside the drop zone – if that means anything – despite having his two best finishes of the season in the last two events.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour may have found themselves a real gem in his 20-year-old countryman – and they need to do all they can to keep him.