TG has spoken to a LIV player who says he wants to continue with the league next season. It seems there’s a theme among those committing to 2.0…
With a deadline looming and futures at stake, we’re about to learn what a “critical mass of players sufficient to operate a bona fide professional golf league” really looks like.
That’s the latest requirement laid out in bankruptcy court documents by BC Partners, the London-based credit firm pledging $300 million to rescue LIV on the basis the league can secure a “requisite” number of player commitments before an initial October 25 deadline.
The exodus, though, has already begun. David Puig, Thomas Pieters and Charles Howell III are now set to follow Jon Rahm out of the exit door. A swathe of further departures will be confirmed in the coming days too, with LIV players queueing up to use the DP World Tour as an invaluable landing ground.
There is a subset of players within LIV’s dwindling ranks, however, who still have good reason to stay. In a golf world desensitized by inordinate prize funds, a proposed relaunch of 10 events comprising purses between $5.5m and $9m feels meagre when stripped back from the $30m previously dished out at each tournament by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
But for some touring golfers, this new era remains a wholly attractive proposition. New Zealand’s Ben Campbell has been part of Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats team on LIV, making a total of $6m despite being ravaged by injuries. After spending the majority of his intrepid career on the Asian Tour, Campbell says his two seasons with LIV has been life-changing.
“It’s been great for me,” he tells TG. “I really learned a lot from being around some of the best players and have so many memories.”
After American Cameron Tringale and England’s Richard Bland, Campbell is the third player contracted to LIV in 2026 who is publicly declaring his wish to stick around.
“I would definitely stick with LIV next year if we can get LIV 2.0 over the line,” he confirms. “After events like Australia and South Africa and seeing the crowds that turned out I’m hoping LIV 2.0 continues.”
So what would Campbell’s schedule look like if LIV does survive?
“I would definitely look to play a full schedule on the Asian Tour,” the 35-year-old, who is currently in rehab after hip surgery, adds. “I’d love to play 10 to 15 events in Asia and Australia then 10 LIV events. That would be a great schedule for me, so fingers crossed it works out.”
RangeGoats player Ben Campbell has told TG he wants to stay for LIV Golf 2.0. (Getty Images)
The concern for Campbell, though, is that a theme is emerging. The players committing to LIV seemingly have no interest in playing on the DP World Tour. Bland, 53, wants to mix a light schedule with senior majors, while Tringale has not played a regular event on the circuit in four years.
And crucially, the DP World Tour will now refuse memberships for those who sign up for LIV 2.0, leaving them with an ultimatum. LIV players with status, of which there are around 15, would need to apply for their DP World Tour cards before November 16 and there can be no more double-dipping.
To complete a full schedule in 2027, LIV players may need to follow Campbell and turn to the Asian Tour, the less lucrative third rung on the ladder in the men’s game.
Last year the Asian Tour acted as a feeder for LIV, but after also being upended by the PIF’s sudden withdrawal of cash, it’s still feeling the “devastating” effects as it looks to rebuild in partnership with the PGA and DP World Tours.
The prevailing sense is that players with opportunities to earn starts on the DP World Tour believe it would be too much of a risk to turn that down in return for equity ownership in a league emerging from bankruptcy. European hopefuls would also be sacrificing their Ryder Cup dreams. An onerous task of filling LIV’s 75-player fields with genuine quality has become infinitely more challenging by Wentworth HQ’s hard line stance.
It’s no wonder, then, that all eyes at LIV are turning towards Bryson DeChambeau. Like a host of his other colleagues, DeChambeau has had his original LIV contract rejected this week to give him freedom over his next moves.
That does not mean DeChambeau will not sign up to LIV 2.0 and his influence will surely hold sway among some. But his silence has been conspicuous since LIV’s last event in August. The two-time US Open champion has since explored the possibility of making more starts on the DP World Tour, in addition to his debut at Gary Player’s Nedbank Challenge in South Africa next month. Membership with the European circuit is certainly an option.
With the PGA Tour seemingly unwilling to compromise on its 12-month suspensions for LIV players, the league’s only true bona fide star has a decision to make.
And it now seems certain that the creaking league’s future will depend on it.