by The LIV Golf League is making a change to its promotional event that will see only a single player receive a spot on the 54-hole course next year, while the top 10 in the 72-hole competition will be eligible for the 10-hole course. Tournament International series that is part of the Asian Tour is excluded.
The move means LIV Golf will limit access to the league, with three players qualified for the 2024 season through the promotional event and another spot going to the winner of the International Series Order of Merit.
LIV Golf unveiled its plans on Thursday for the tournament, which will be held Dec. 12-14 at the Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia.
Like last year, the event will be played over three days, with various exemption categories allowing entry into the first and second days, allowing some players to skip the first round.
The top 20 players advance to the final 36 holes, with the winner receiving $200,000 and a spot in the LIV Golf League in 2025, along with the leader of the International Series, a 10-tournament tournament within the Asian Tour.
The big change in reducing it to just one exempt spot is due to the belief that teams would prefer to fill their open spots with players of their choice rather than being assigned one from the promotional event.
“Honestly, the league’s ability to sign players to teams is something we want to move away from,” said a LIV Golf executive who did not want to be identified. “We want teams to have the autonomy to mature and create their own commercial value. And some of the teams have identified targets. There is a balance between bringing in those who can help sell the team while increasing the competitive nature.”
LIV Golf owns 75% of the 13 teams that make up the league, with captains holding a 25% stake. The business model is that LIV Golf sells the teams as “franchises” to potential owners.
For now, the plan is to continue with a 54-player league like LIV did this year, meaning there would be two wildcard spots. This year these were held by Anthony Kim and Hudson Swafford, neither of whom performed particularly well and ended up at the bottom of the individual rankings.
Kim could potentially be added to one of the teams, while Swafford is not expected back.
In theory, the winner of the promotional event would receive the wildcard spots along with the International Series leader (currently American John Catlin).
Last year, Kalle Samooja, Kieran Vincent and Jinichiro Kozuma secured the three promotion spots, but both Samooja and Vincent were unable to avoid relegation as they did not finish in the top 48 players. Kozuma was 45th and doesn’t have to retire from a LIV team.
Andy Ogletree, the former U.S. Amateur champion who won the International Series Order of Merit last year, finished 34th in the individual standings and will be back in 2025 as part of Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers team.
LIV Golf has not yet announced its free agency window, but it is expected that there will be some moves between teams and some players whose contracts have expired and who did not finish in the top 24 overall be taken over. This would allow teams to sign players to their team.
For those unable to secure a promotional spot, a guaranteed spot in the International Series provides the opportunity to secure a direct spot at LIV Golf for 2026. The events are also worth $2 million and would also provide some access to the Greater Asia tour schedule.
LIV Golf Promotions 2024 Eligibility Criteria:
Category A: Qualification for Round 1
1. Members of the Walker Cup 2023 and Palmer Cup 2024 teams
2. Winner and runner-up of the following most recently played amateur events:
A. US Amateur Championship
B. The Amateur Championship
C. Asia Pacific Amateur Championship
D. Latin American Amateur Championship
e. European Amateur Championship
F. African Amateur Championship
G. NCAA Championship (Singles)
H. Eisenhower Trophy (individual)
3. Leading 15 available players from the top 40 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of November 19, 2024 (excluding players excluded from Round 2)
4. Top 25 available players from the top 40 of the final 2024 International Series rankings (excluding those excluded in round two)
5. Lead 5 available players from the top 10 of each of the following professional tours (as of November 19, 2024):
A. Japan Golf Tour
B. KPGA Korea Tour
C. Sunshine Tour
D. PGA Tour of Australasia
6. Leading 30 available players from the top 300 of the Universal Golf Rankings (TUGR) as of November 19, 2024 (excluding those excluded in Round 2)
7. Invitations as determined by the LIV Golf League
Category B: Exceptions in Round 2
The following players are exempt from Round 1 and automatically eligible to participate in Round 2:
1. Leading 2 available players from the top 15 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings (as of November 19, 2024).
2. Players ranked 2-8 in the final 2024 International Series rankings
3. Top 3 players from each of the following professional tours as of November 19, 2024:
A. Japan Golf Tour
B. KPGA Korea Tour
C. Sunshine Tour
D. PGA Tour of Australasia
4. Top 5 available players from the top 30 of the Final 2024 DP World Tour and Korn Ferry Tour Order of Merits/Rankings
5. Winners of the International Series and Asian Tour sanctioned tournaments in the 2024 calendar year
6. Winners of Japan Golf Tour, KPGA Korean Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, Sunshine Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia sanctioned tournaments in the 2024 calendar year
7. Winners of PGA Tour and DP World Tour sanctioned tournaments in calendar years 2023 and 2024
8. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup participants from 2019 – 2024
9. Winner of the Major Championships from 2019 – 2024
10. Leading 15 available players from the top 150 of the Universal Golf Rankings (TUGR) as of November 19, 2024
11. Players who are relegated from the final 2024 LIV Golf Individual Ranking or do not have a contract for the following season
12. Invitations as determined by the LIV Golf League
