{"id":403297,"date":"2026-01-10T02:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T02:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/403297\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T02:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T02:54:11","slug":"bubba-watson-hit-by-late-transfer-twist-as-liv-golf-move-collapses-before-2026-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/403297\/","title":{"rendered":"Bubba Watson hit by late transfer twist as LIV Golf move collapses before 2026 season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bubba Watson has been left counting the cost of another turbulent LIV Golf transfer window after a huge late deal collapsed, forcing a dramatic U-turn at RangeGoats GC ahead of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n<p>The two-time Masters champion confirmed on Friday 9 January that Matthew Wolff, Peter Uihlein and Ben Campbell will all return to RangeGoats GC this season \u2014 but it\u2019s Campbell\u2019s inclusion that has raised eyebrows across the game.<\/p>\n<p>Just weeks ago, it was widely assumed the New Zealander was heading for the exit door after being released and entered into this week\u2019s LIV Golf Promotions event.<\/p>\n<p>BREAKING NEWS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfmagic.com\/tour\/pga-tour\/brooks-koepka-applies-pga-tour-reinstatement-weeks-after-shock-liv-golf-exit\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"eda4d2de-501d-4080-ad91-a7cafba08cf5\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" title=\"Brooks Koepka applies for PGA Tour reinstatement weeks after shock LIV Golf exit \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Brooks Koepka applies for PGA Tour return weeks after quitting LIV Golf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Insiders believed Campbell\u2019s days under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfmagic.com\/players\/bubba-watson\" data-entity-type=\"taxonomy_term\" data-entity-uuid=\"f63164b4-8ce5-4309-8d7f-99086eadb876\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" title=\"Bubba Watson\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watson<\/a> were numbered.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>However, sources told <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/flushingitgolf\/status\/2009629848675791331\" rel=\"nofollow\">Flushing It <\/a>on X that RangeGoats GC were lining up a blockbuster replacement \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfmagic.com\/tour\/pga-tour\" data-entity-type=\"taxonomy_term\" data-entity-uuid=\"0514d135-c0aa-4a5d-a5c8-f7197f44adc3\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" title=\"PGA Tour\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">PGA Tour<\/a> pro and World No.33 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfmagic.com\/players\/max-greyserman\" data-entity-type=\"taxonomy_term\" data-entity-uuid=\"1b1476dc-a272-4c11-b7ca-e785cfebcfa4\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" title=\"Max Greyserman\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Max Greyserman<\/a> \u2014 in a deal believed to be worth eight figures.<\/p>\n<p>But then at the eleventh hour, it all unravelled.<\/p>\n<p>The Greyserman move is said to have fallen apart late in negotiations, leaving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfmagic.com\/tour\/liv-golf\" data-entity-type=\"taxonomy_term\" data-entity-uuid=\"a98bdd27-b225-4fc9-b7d2-bbff98678a53\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" title=\"LIV Golf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">LIV Golf<\/a> empty-handed once again and forcing Watson to stick with his existing roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was thought that Ben had been released after he was entered into the LIV Golf Promotions event,&#8221; wrote Flushing It.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But sources indicate that a deal to sign a new player, potentially Max Greyserman for an 8 figure offer, fell through at the late stages.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Campbell, once learning he was not getting the boot at RangeGoats, elected to WD from this week&#8217;s LIV Promotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/flush12.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Flushing It \/ X \" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.74\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Flushing It \/ X<\/p>\n<p>The failed pursuit of Greyserman only adds to a growing list of PGA Tour stars snubbing LIV Golf ahead of its fifth season.<\/p>\n<p>Despite not yet winning on the PGA Tour, Greyserman has posted multiple runner-up finishes over the past two seasons and was viewed as one of LIV\u2019s most realistic big-name targets for 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Instead, he becomes the latest to say no.<\/p>\n<p>That trend was underlined spectacularly last month when Brooks Koepka <a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfmagic.com\/tour\/liv-golf\/confirmed-brooks-koepka-will-no-longer-compete-liv-golf-league\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"949c3ff3-6446-4516-b8c1-0a84cfe3e835\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" title=\"Brooks Koepka has quit LIV Golf and here is the real reason why \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">stunned the golf world by quitting LIV Golf<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/brooks-liv-exit.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Brooks Koepka \" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.48\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Brooks Koepka<\/p>\n<p>Five-time major champion Koepka walked away from the breakaway league on 23 December, reportedly giving up the final year of a contract believed to be worth around $100 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Koepka\u2019s camp cited a desire to spend more time with family, with the American expected to play only the majors \u2014 and possibly a handful of DP World Tour events \u2014 in 2026.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>LIV has also struck out in high-profile pursuits of Akshay Bhatia and Si Woo Kim.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/akshay-bhatia-lifestyle-01-7086-scaled.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Akshay Bhatia (Callaway)\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.5\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Akshay Bhatia (Callaway)<\/p>\n<p>Bhatia turned down a massive offer to join Phil Mickelson\u2019s HyFlyers GC, opting instead to remain on the PGA Tour \u2014 and even link up with Tiger Woods\u2019 Jupiter Links GC on TGL, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfmagic.com\/tour\/tgl\/why-akshay-bhatia-chose-tiger-woods-over-phil-mickelson-and-liv-golf-2026\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"ea1504fd-7339-4b2b-ae16-e64872dc2829\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\" title=\"Why Akshay Bhatia chose Tiger Woods over Phil Mickelson and LIV Golf in 2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a move that only deepened LIV\u2019s frustration<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Si Woo Kim, meanwhile, rejected approaches from Kevin Na\u2019s Iron Heads GC not once, but twice, publicly committing his future to the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n<p>While the headlines paint a challenging picture, LIV Golf has not been completely empty-handed.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Victor Perez has joined Martin Kaymer\u2019s Cleeks GC, while Laurie Canter has signed for the all-British Majesticks GC.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Further moves are expected, with Thomas Detry tipped for Dustin Johnson\u2019s 4Aces and Elvis Smylie linked with Cameron Smith\u2019s Ripper GC \u2014 though neither deal is official yet.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/unnamed-33.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"RangeGoats GC (LIV Golf)\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.5\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>RangeGoats GC (LIV Golf)<\/p>\n<p>Watson, for his part, remains defiant as his RangeGoats enter the 2026 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to getting the 2026 season started,\u201d he said in a RangeGoats GC statement sent to GolfMagic.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInjury and illness hurt our momentum last year, so we&#8217;re excited for a fresh, healthy start in 2026. We have all the talent we need; we just have to step up and compete all season long.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>RangeGoats GC showed flashes of promise in 2025, opening the campaign with a T2 finish at LIV Golf Riyadh, before fading to ninth in the regular-season standings and tenth at the Team Championship.<\/p>\n<p>Watson himself enjoyed a resurgence, finishing 11th in the season-long points race, his best-ever LIV campaign.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2025-07-27t124518z_1889809022_up1el7r0zfgjm_rtrmadp_3_golf-liv-britain.JPG\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Watson showed glimpses of improvement in 2025\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.64\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Watson showed glimpses of improvement in 2025<\/p>\n<p>Uihlein once again provided consistency, with two top-10 finishes including a T6 in Hong Kong, while Wolff flashed serious upside despite a back injury limiting him to 11 starts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Campbell, meanwhile, finished as the team\u2019s second-highest ranked player, highlighted by a third-place finish in Singapore.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Recently re-signed RangeGoat, Ben Campbell, talks with Jerry Foltz about the RangeGoats brand. He says at a lot of events, the RangeGoats are 2nd or 3rd in merch sales. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5ZsdMaUjHe\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/5ZsdMaUjHe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LIV&#8217;r &amp; Onions! (@LIVRandONIONS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LIVRandONIONS\/status\/2009669455882928193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">January 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>LIV Golf enters 2026 with a new 72-hole format, while retaining its shotgun starts and team events \u2014 but with elite PGA Tour talent becoming harder to lure, the pressure is mounting.<\/p>\n<p>Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm of course remain headline acts, but the message from the market is becoming increasingly clear.<\/p>\n<p>For LIV Golf, money alone may no longer be enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to our Newsletter<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bubba Watson has been left counting the cost of another turbulent LIV Golf transfer window after a huge&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403298,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-403297","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}