\t\t\t\tThe 54-hole format was such an integral part of LIV Golf\u2019s identity that they literally named the league after it. But that is all about to change \u2013 and some of the big names are not happy, as Ben Parsons and Alex Perry found out\u2026 <\/p>\n
Late last year, during an otherwise uneventful press conference, Tyrrell Hatton gave reporters an unexpected peek behind the curtain at LIV Golf.<\/p>\n
The Englishman was at the Abu Dhabi Championship, responding to the surprise news that LIV had ditched its differential 54-hole format for the traditional 72-hole model<\/a> for the 2026 season onwards.<\/p>\n Hatton was pleased with the expansion to four rounds, but, intriguingly, he disclosed that as early as 12 months ago there had been plenty of resistance from players over the forthcoming switch.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of my first season, there was a questionnaire that was filled out,\u201d said Hatton, who moved to the league at the start of 2024. \u201cOne of the questions was about moving to 72 holes, and of everyone who filled it out, I think there were only three guys, initially, who had said [yes] about moving.\u201d<\/p>\n But it was also recognised that the shift to 72 holes was part of a wider set of changes<\/a> \u2013 including an increase in relegation spots and meritocratic pathways \u2013 that LIV have made during this offseason in an effort to finally claim Official World Golf Ranking points.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most successful leagues around the world\u00a0\u2013\u00a0IPL,\u00a0EPL,\u00a0NBA, MLB, NFL\u00a0\u2013\u00a0continue to innovate and evolve their\u00a0product, and as an emerging\u00a0league, we are no different,\u201d LIV chief executive Scott O\u2019Neil stressed.<\/p>\n A year, of course, is a long time in this capricious landscape and opinions can evolve, especially when world ranking points, which offer routes to major championships, are potentially on the line.<\/p>\n A divided camp<\/p>\n So have players come round to the idea of LIV backtracking on one of its founding principles \u2013 or is the move still as unpopular as it appeared when they filled out the initial survey? <\/p>\n During a recent LIV Golf event in West Palm Beach to preview the new season, TG asked various players their views on the big change. Opinion, we discovered, is most certainly divided.<\/p>\n There was a decent share of ambivalence, with some shrugging their shoulders at a move to the format they have long been accustomed with. \u201cI\u2019ve played 72 holes my whole life, so it doesn\u2019t bother me at all,\u201d Sergio Garcia says. \u201cThe more holes you play, the cream usually rises to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n Lee Westwood argues the move is \u201ccertainly more of a positive than a negative\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt ticks a lot of boxes, world rankings, things like that,\u201d the 52-year-old Englishman says. \u201cI\u2019ve always felt a long time between turning up on a Monday at tournaments and teeing off on Friday as well, having played 72-hole tournaments for 30-odd years.\u201d<\/p>\n Others, though, are more passionate about the subject.<\/p>\n Jon Rahm, LIV\u2019s biggest-money signing who has lobbied for 72 holes for two years, hailed the change as \u201cabsolutely massive\u201d for the league.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I joined, it was very, very early on and it was a rough product,\u201d the Spaniard explains.\u00a0\u201cIf you go tournament per tournament, compared to the big tours where they have 40 plus events\u00a0a year, we\u2019ve had three seasons of 14 and one of eight. Basically a season and a half in compared to the PGA Tour, and the DP World Tour.\u00a0So take it like that, they\u2019re making a lot of strides.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, self-confessed slow-burners like Graeme McDowell are seizing an opportunity to climb leaderboards.<\/p>\n \u201cThe strategy of the 54 holes doesn\u2019t really suit who I am,\u201d McDowell admits. \u201cI\u2019m a little bit more consistency, grinding, the mentality of the 72-hole marathon style. One round less sounds like it should be nothing, but it\u2019s an unbelievable shift in the mentality of 54 versus 72.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s 14 more days competitive golf this year, which adds two more weeks, but the pros outweigh the cons for me. It\u2019s a more traditional, more accepted format within the game. It\u2019s like the PGA Tour\u2019s morphing into us and we\u2019re morphing into the PGA Tour. They\u2019ve got all these elevated events with limited fields and guaranteed money, and we\u2019re starting to play 72 holes now. The alignment of the world is good for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Dean Burmester concurs. \u201cIt\u2019s a good idea in terms of prep for the majors, and going forward into bigger events,\u201d the South African, a two-time winner on LIV, says. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting from a tournament perspective, because you don\u2019t have to be as quick out the blocks. Three rounds felt like a sprint.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet some others are far from convinced.<\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau is undoubtedly LIV\u2019s biggest star and, right now, perhaps the league\u2019s most important voice. DeChambeau has told TG that he will remain at LIV for another season, despite being offered an olive branch to follow Brooks Koepka<\/a> and Patrick Reed<\/a> back to the PGA Tour. Beyond 2026, the two-time US Open champion has been hesitant to commit his future to the league.<\/p>\n When LIV\u2019s press release landed in November to confirm the news, DeChambeau was happy to toe the party line: \u201cBy moving to 72 holes, LIV Golf is taking a proactive step to align with the historic format recognized globally.\u201d<\/p>\n But DeChambeau has changed his tune by the time TG sits down with him and asks his thoughts on the changes made during this offseason.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely changed away from what we had initially been told it was going to be,\u201d he says. \u201cSo there is some movement that we\u2019ve all been, I would say, interested in, and going, \u2018why that movement?\u2019 Because we were told it was going to be this. So that\u2019s definitely made us have some different thoughts about it.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a contract for this year, and we\u2019ll go through it there and see what happens after that. Look, it\u2019s 72 holes, it\u2019s changed, but we\u2019re still excited to play professionally and play for what we\u2019re doing and go across the world. I think it\u2019s going to be great for our [Crushers GC] team. Is it what we ultimately signed up for? No. So I think we\u2019re supposed to be different, so I\u2019m a little indifferent to it right now.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully it weighs positively on me over the course of time, but you never know. I\u2019m not sure. We didn\u2019t sign up to play for 72.\u201d<\/p>\n