Shaky LIV Golf... Facing Internal and External Crises

Koepka and Reed Lead Star Exodus
PGA Tour and McIlroy Welcome Returning Players
Merger Talks Between the Two Organizations Stall, Raising Concerns

LIV Golf is facing turbulence. Since its launch in 2022, it has poured in oil money, but the results have been lackluster. Backed by Saudi Arabian oil capital, LIV Golf is desperately searching for a breakthrough. The problem is that a solution remains elusive. The organization is facing its greatest crisis in five years.

LIV Golf is seeing its star players depart. The transfer of "major hunter" Brooks Koepka of the United States, who has collected nine career wins on the PGA Tour, was the first signal. From LIV Golf's perspective, his departure was a significant blow. Koepka played his comeback match at the PGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open, which began on January 29 (local time), marking his first return in four years since the Valspar Championship in March 2022.

Brooks Koepka, who returned to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf, is giving an interview immediately after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open. San Diego=AFP Yonhap News Agency

Koepka was only the beginning. Patrick Reed of the United States, the 2018 Masters champion, also parted ways with LIV Golf. Reed has nine career wins on the PGA Tour. After transferring to LIV Golf in June 2022, he also won the LIV Golf Dallas event in June last year. After four seasons with LIV Golf, he is returning to the PGA Tour. Reed announced, "I was born to play on the PGA Tour," adding, "After careful consideration with my family, I have decided not to compete with LIV Golf any longer."

This is not the end. Other players who played for LIV Golf until last year, including Korean-American Kevin Na, as well as Pat Perez and Hudson Swafford (both from the United States), have also regained their PGA Tour membership. Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Mito Pereira (Chile), Andy Ogletree (United States), Frederik Kjettrup (Denmark), and Jang Yubin have all left LIV Golf after failing to achieve strong results.

Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, has parted ways with LIV Golf and returned to the PGA Tour. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

The PGA Tour has created a path for LIV Golf players to return. It has established a "return membership program." This program is limited to players who had suspended their PGA Tour participation for at least two years and who won one of the four major championships or "the fifth major," The Players Championship, between 2022 and 2025. Koepka benefited from this program and immediately played his comeback match.

The changing atmosphere among PGA Tour players has also played a role. Initially, players who moved to LIV Golf were criticized for chasing money, but attitudes have shifted. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, ranked second in the world and a marquee player on the PGA Tour, has changed his stance. Although he was outspokenly critical of LIV Golf at its inception, he now says, "I welcome the players returning to the PGA Tour." Golf legend Tiger Woods of the United States also commented on Koepka's return, saying, "It is significant for the PGA Tour," and added, "Fans wanted to see the best players compete."

PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy welcomed the return of LIV Golf players. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

The issue of a merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour has also surfaced. In June 2023, just one year after LIV Golf's launch, the two organizations announced a surprise merger, but more than two and a half years later, there has been little substantive progress toward integration. With players like Koepka and Reed returning to the PGA Tour, there is little sign of the two organizations coming together as one.

Golf enthusiast and U.S. President Donald Trump boasted that he would make the merger happen, but he admitted, "The negotiations to unify the two organizations are more complicated than peace talks between Russia and Ukraine." McIlroy also remarked, "It's hard to imagine either side making concessions during the merger negotiations. Realistically, it will not be easy."

Even players who remain with LIV Golf are concerned. Until last year, LIV Golf used a shotgun start format, had no cuts, and determined winners through 54-hole, three-round stroke play, which meant players did not receive world ranking points. This year, the organization is signaling changes such as adopting a four-day, 72-hole format and expanding the field, but the decision to award ranking points has not yet been finalized.