5 fascinating offseason questions facing LIV Golf
Welcome back to Finale Monday, where we’re declining all high-stakes Super Secret Private Poker invitations until further notice. Golf news!
My favorite golf items
Dig holes.
By now, you’ve probably seen a few replays of golf shot of the year contenders – U.S. Jordan Gomberg At the Genesis Championship, he made an eagle on the 72nd hole to stay one stroke away from qualifying for the DP World Tour. But what struck me about that shot was how much professional golf just refuses to give up.
Gomberg turned pro in 2017. In the first five years of his career, he missed his first 17 cuts on the Korn Ferry and PGA Tours, but he didn’t give up. Instead, he traveled to Europe and tried to find opportunities there.
He didn’t give up when his first year in Europe faltered, failing in eight of 10 cuts and failing to finish better than a tie for 51st. Instead, he put his head down and returned the next season, turning Monday’s qualifier into a runner-up spot. That Turn that into a full card, converting it into DP World Tour wins and full qualification for 2024 and 2025.
When things went wrong again midway through the season, he didn’t give up, even though he missed 13 of 16 knockout games and knew it might be his last game in true form. He hasn’t shown any form and he needs to work hard to keep his cards. But then he stepped up.
This is because Gumberg didn’t give up on his wedge shot on the 18th hole at Woojeongsan Country Club in Cheonan, South Korea. That it actually fell into the hole was a nice reward from the golf gods.
Because Gumberg hasn’t given up yet, I’m excited for what he does next.
Winner
Who wins this week?
Michael Brennan A step was skipped. After winning three times on the PGA Americas Tour this summer, he has qualified for the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2026 season – but he won’t use it. Instead, he took full advantage of his sponsor exemption at the Bank of Utah Championship, winning by four strokes against a tough opponent on the Fall Tour. His whole week has been jaw-dropping, but the biggest jaw-dropper:
brennan mean 351.1 yards tee and bat 89% His fairway. This resulted in the best driving performance of the entire PGA Tour season (by strokes) (+7.6SGD). Black Desert has wide fairways, but it severely punishes big mistakes. Sean Martin Call it a “driving clinic,” and it seems about right. In fact, it’s fitting that Martin’s analysis is attached to a clip from Brennan lost One of his six fairways all week – because this missed fairway is right in the middle, 418 yards long, creeping into the greenside rough, leaving him with an up-and-down birdie opportunity.
It was great to have Michael Brennan win in Utah.
He averaged 351 yards off the tee, missed just six fairways all week, and led the field in net scoring off the tee at +7.62.
— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) October 27, 2025
australian team Won the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown, an LPGA team event held every two years in which teams from various countries participate in a week-long match play event. This event may not have caught your attention because so much happened overnight (the New Korea Country Club was largely absent from ET), but Australia knocked it out of the park in the finals, beating the United States. Li Minzhi and Hannah Green Everyone won singles matches. (More here.)
Li Zhenghuan It was their first win on the DP World Tour, and it came by three strokes on home soil. With the victory, Lee immediately qualified for the DPWT, marking the first time a Korean player has competed in the tour since then. Intrinsically safe In the same game last year. (More here.)
Pongsapak “FIFA” Laopakdee At the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Emirates Golf Club, he birdied the 10th, 13th, 15th, 17th and 18th holes to fight back from six shots behind to earn a spot in the Masters. He then birdied all three holes in the playoff to win by one shot. An interesting fact about the Arizona State junior Evan PriestThis week on set: The 20-year-old Thai talks to himself when he’s nervous, an idea he borrows Gino Titicul.
Steven Alker At the Simmons Bank Championship, he shot 20 under and beat two runners-up at 13 under to win the PGA Tour Championship with a complete touchdown (and extra point!). It was his 10th win on the senior circuit, moving him to No. 1 in the rankings as they reach the playoff finals. (More here.)
and Tseng Yani Re-entering the winner’s circle at the Ladies European Tour is the latest step in an improbable comeback that has experienced some very low lows but now stands as some small triumphs for the human spirit; having once switched to left-handed on the greens and overcoming issues with the putter. Golf is endlessly difficult, but it also has endless charm, even if you reach the top of the world.
bunt hitter
LIV faces 5 unanswered questions this offseason.
If you say to yourself, Hey Dylan, isn’t it your job to answer these questions? I would say, you know, that’s fair. Thought this would be a fun list for you and a to-do list for me. Here are five issues surrounding LIV that are also affecting other parts of the professional golf ecosystem:
1. Who will LIV sign?
This has been the league’s most intriguing question since LIV’s inception – who will they recruit from elsewhere in the golf ecosystem? The first and a half jaw-dropping wave of 2022 comes from Phil Mickelson arrive Bryson DeChambeau arrive Brooks Koepka arrive Joaquin Nyman arrive Cam Smith etc. Signed in 2023 Jon Rahm also shocking, especially when accompanied by Tyrell Hatton. So who will be the champion of LIV this offseason? Which PGA Tour players will defect? Who will be the biggest name?
2. Who will LIV renew?
News over the weekend rinse it LIV has re-emerged Dustin Johnson’s The contract was originally scheduled to expire after the 2025 season. The 4 Aces captain will return, which means LIV may think it’s worth it for him to do so.
Some of LIV’s biggest names are in an interesting position right now. On the one hand, LIV needs them to stay in order to maintain momentum. On the other hand, they may have nowhere to go, thus weakening their negotiating leverage with LIV.
The biggest negotiations to date will not take place this offseason and will involve Bryson DeChambeauhis contract will be extended until 2026. He’s a full-time content creator and now something of a media mogul in his own right – it’ll be interesting to see how his relationship with LIV and his Crushers evolve as he considers leveling up again and balancing his side quests.
3. Will LIV receive OWGR points?
John Hopkins’ excellent and comprehensive profile of now-retired OWGR Chairman Peter Dawson in Global Golf Post contains two interesting points:
-He doesn’t know why LIV is so urgent.
“I really don’t understand why PIF [Public Investment Fund] Dawson continued: “They are making a fantastic contribution to the women’s game through the PIF Global Series and they have ambitious plans within the Kingdom to expand golf for their people and tourism. These initiatives deserve our applause, but LIV appears to be an exception.”
-He was disappointed that they did not reach an OWGR resolution.
“I’m very disappointed that LIV has not been able to do this,” he said. “It goes without saying that the players on the LIV Tour are good enough to be ranked because they have been previously ranked. But it is OWGR’s responsibility to ensure that all thousands of players in the system are ranked fairly. There are aspects of the LIV format that make that impossible. In my opinion, OWGR made the only decision it could at the time.“
OWGR failed in part because LIV took its toys and went home, withdrawing its application rather than working with those in power to develop acceptable points standards. But now, with new leadership in place on both sides of the relationship and new applications about to be launched, it will be interesting to see how the OWGR Board and LIV find common ground and potential points.
4. What happens to Henrik Stenson?
Henrik Stenson is the highest-ranked LIV golfer in the “relegation zone,” outside the top 48, which means he will automatically be relegated according to LIV rules. (that’s right Anthony Kingalso, plus Mito Pereiraetc. ) But so far, we haven’t really seen LIV give up any star players, let alone the co-captain of a team like Stenson (the Majesticks).
5. What will happen if you are promoted or demoted?
LIV has run a promotion each of the past two offseasons. They’re set to host it again this December, with Stenson, Kim and Pereira likely to attend – but if that happens, LIV hasn’t made any statement on the subject so far. The answer to this question is intertwined with points 3 and 4 (and perhaps points 1 and 2), as the issue of promotion and relegation is crucial to the open vs. closed shop for new players to earn their spots. Maybe they are negotiating with OWGR about this. Maybe they can establish another route through the Asian Tour or their international series. Again, we have major problems.
It’s time to find out…
News from Seattle
Headquarters completed on Monday.
It was an unseasonably sunny Monday after a tumultuous weekend. On Saturday night, with the lights flashing all night due to pouring rain and 50 mph winds, I took photos of hail in Chambers Bay on Sunday. But it’s the kind of weather that’s inspiring, will make you hit a medium-sized bucket on the way home from get off work, will make you take the dog on extra-long walks, and will make the evening hours feel precious rather than dark and shortened. I hope the same is true where you are.
See you next week!
Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.
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