LIV Golf is expanding its tournaments from three-day, 54-hole events to the more standard four-day, 72-hole format, in a major shift that should help the tour’s efforts to finally gain world rankings points.
The change will be in effect for LIV’s 2026 season, which will include 14 events, beginning in February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, whose Public Investment Fund continues to financially back the league despite significant losses.
Since launching in 2022, the 54-hole format has been one of LIV’s biggest calling cards, with the league touting the shorter length of its tournaments, alongside the inclusion of loud music, shorts, and other novelties that buck the traditions and current trends of the rival PGA Tour.
However, playing just three rounds of golf, not four, hampered LIV’s initial application for accreditation from the Official World Golf Ranking board. The 72-hole format is a standard requirement for most OWGR-certified events.
“The move to 72 holes marks a pivotal new chapter for LIV Golf that strengthens our league, challenges our elite field of players, and delivers more of the world-class golf, energy, innovation, and access that our global audience wants,” LIV CEO Scott O’Neil said in a statement.
LIV is not adding a 36-hole cut—another sticking point with the OWGR—however, that has become less of an issue in recent years, as the PGA Tour continues to play more no-cut events (albeit with larger fields).
On Monday, LIV announced it is increasing the number of qualification opportunities for its 2026 season from two to four—yet another move likely aimed at satisfying OWGR requirements. Initially, LIV’s closed-shop makeup with guaranteed contracts for players went against OWGR’s policies requiring tours to have an open pathway for new qualifiers.
LIV submitted a new OWGR application in July, this time under the leadership of O’Neil, who took over the CEO role from Greg Norman in January. Norman’s contract with LIV officially expired in August, and he no longer has a role with the league. In 2023, the OWGR denied LIV’s first application for world ranking points.
The lack of world ranking points has hurt several LIV Golf stars in recent years, making it harder for them to qualify for the four major championships.
While the likes of Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau have been able to compete in The Masters and other three majors due to their past major wins, other LIV players like Joaquin Niemann have had to rely on special invites into golf’s most prestigious events. On Sunday, Tom McKibbin became the first LIV player to win his way into The Masters since Augusta National Golf Club changed its qualification criteria just over two months ago.
Should LIV eventually earn OWGR status, the road will still be bumpy, though. With field sizes still likely under 60 players (compared to 72-plus and PGA Tour signature events and 144 at full-field tournaments), the amount of world rankings points available at any given LIV event could still be relatively small.
