LIV Golf faces 5 interesting offseason questions

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Hole out.

By now, you may have seen several replays of the American’s shot, which is a strong contender for golf shot of the year. jordan gunberg At the Genesis Championship, he holed out for eagle on the 72nd hole, keeping his DP World Tour card by one stroke. But what struck me about this shot is how much professional golf is about never giving up.

Gamberg, who turned professional in 2017, didn’t give up despite missing his first 17 cuts at Korn Ferry and the PGA Tour in the first five years of his career. Instead he headed to Europe, where he tried to find a breakthrough.

Even when his first year in Europe hit a plateau, missing eight of his 10 cuts and failing to finish better than T51, he didn’t give up. Instead he bowed out and came back the next season, turning Monday’s qualifier into a runner-up and that He became a full card, which resulted in a win on the DP World Tour, earning him full status for 2024 and 2025.

He didn’t give up even when things went against him again midway through the season. Even as I missed 13 of 16 cuts, I headed into my last event of the year knowing that it was likely the last event with real status. He wasn’t showing any form and needed to fight just to keep his card. But then he rose to the occasion.

and that is because Gamberg didn’t give up on being in position to hit the No. 18 wedge shot at Woojong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, South Korea. Actually hitting the hole was a happy reward from the golf gods.

And Gamberg hasn’t given up yet, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.

winner

Who won this week?

michael brennan I skipped a step. After three wins on the PGA Tour Americas this summer, he earned Korn Ferry Tour status for the 2026 season, but he has no intention of using it. Instead, he took full advantage of his sponsor exemption and entered the Bank of Utah Championship, winning by four strokes over a solid field on the fall tour. His week has been eye-opening, but this was the most eye-opening.

Brennan average 351.1 yards hit off the tee 89 percent About his fairway. Strokes gained resulted in the best driving performance of the entire PGA Tour season. (+7.6 SG). Black Desert has wide fairways, but aggressively punishes big mistakes. Sean Martin It seems right to call it a “driving clinic.” It’s fitting that Martin’s analysis was actually attached to Brennan’s clip. do not have That’s because the missed fairway was 418 yards down the middle and fell into the rough next to the green, leaving him up and down for birdie.

team australia The Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown is an LPGA team event held every two years, won by a country-based team in a week-long match-play competition. This event may have flown under your radar as much of it happened overnight (New Korea Country Club is barely on ET), but in the finals, the Australian team defeated the American team. Minjee Lee and hannah green Each won a singles match. (Click here for details.)

Lee Jung Hwan It was his first win on the DP World Tour, and he won on his home turf by three strokes. Lee immediately qualified for the DPWT with his victory, which also marks the first time on tour by a Korean player. Ben Ann At the same tournament last year. (Click here for details.)

Ponsapak “Fifa” Laopakdee He won the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship held at the Emirates Golf Club, earning him a ticket to the Masters. He came back from a six-shot deficit to birdie the 10th, 13th, 15th, 17th, and 18th. He then birdied all three holes of the playoff and won by one stroke. Here’s one interesting fact about the Arizona State junior. Evin Priestwho was on the scene this week: 20-year-old Thai man sings to himself when he’s nervous, idea he borrowed gino titicle.

Stephen Alker He won the PGA Tour Champions by a full touchdown (and extra points!), and at the Simmons Bank Championship he shot 20 under, beating out the two second-place finishers at 13 under. This was his 10th win on the senior circuit and moved him into first place heading into the final round of the playoffs. (Click here for details.)

and Yani Tseng She is back in the winner’s circle on the Ladies European Tour. This is the latest step in an improbable comeback that has featured some seriously poor performances, but now represents a small victory for the human spirit. Tseng overcame his putting yips by turning left-handed on the greens. Golf is endlessly difficult, but even if you become number one in the world, it has endless charm.

short hitter

5 unanswered questions facing LIV this offseason.

If you ask yourself, Hey Dylan, isn’t it your job to answer these questions? I think that’s fair enough. Consider this an interesting list for you and a to-do list for me. Here are five questions about LIV that have implications for other parts of the professional golf ecosystem.

1. Who does LIV contract with?

Since LIV’s creation, this has been the most interesting question surrounding the league. Who will we recruit from elsewhere in the golf ecosystem? The first wave and a half of 2022 was an eye-opener for everyone. Phil Mickelson to bryson dechambeau to Brooks Koepka to Joaquin Niemann to cam smith And so on. 2023 signing Jon Rahm especially, Tyrrell Hutton. So who will LIV acquire this offseason? Which players on the PGA Tour will drop out? Who will be the biggest names?

2. Who will LIV re-sign with?

News arrived over the weekend flushing it LIV has been re-uploaded dustin johnson’s The contract was scheduled to expire after the 2025 season. 4 Having the ace captain back means LIV was probably worth it.

Some of LIV’s biggest names are currently in interesting positions. On the one hand, LIV needs them to stay in order to maintain momentum. On the other hand, their influence in negotiations with LIV is hampered by the fact that they may have nowhere else to go.

The biggest negotiations to date won’t happen this offseason. bryson dechambeauThe contract has been extended until 2026. Now, he’s a full-time content creator and something of a media mogul in his own right. It will be interesting to see how LIV and his relationship with the Crushers develop as they consider re-uploading while balancing side quests.

3. Can LIV earn OWGR points?

John Hopkins’ excellent and comprehensive Global Golf Post profile (which you should read here) included a couple of interesting nuggets on now-retired OWGR chairman Peter Dawson.

– He is unclear as to why LIV keeps pushing.

“I really don’t understand why PIF (Public Investment Fund) and Saudi Arabia are so insistent on it,” Dawson continued. “They are doing great work for the women’s game with the PIF Global Series and have great plans to expand golf in Saudi Arabia for its own people and tourism. These efforts are commendable, but LIV appears to be the maverick.”

And he regrets not being able to reach a resolution for OWGR.

“I was very disappointed that we couldn’t do that at LIV,” he said. “It’s a truism that players on the LIV Tour are good enough to be ranked because they’ve always been that way. However, OWGR has an obligation to ensure that all of the thousands of players in the system are ranked fairly. Several aspects of the LIV format made that impossible. In my opinion, OWGR made the only decision possible at the time.”“

Part of the reason for OWGR’s failure is that LIV took the toys home and withdrew its application, rather than working with those in power based on acceptable criteria for earning points. But now, with new leadership in place on both sides of the relationship and new applications underway, it will be interesting to see how the OWGR Board and LIV find common ground, and potentially points.

4. What will happen to Henrik Stenson?

Henrik Stenson is the highest-profile LIV golfer to finish outside the top 48 in the “drop zone,” meaning he is automatically demoted by LIV rules. (This is true anthony kimalso plus Pereira’s mythamong others. ) But I’ve never really seen LIV giving up a star player at this point, never mind a co-captain of the team (Majestics) like Stenson.

5. What exactly does promotion and demotion look like?

LIV has held promotional events each of the past two offseasons. They have another match scheduled for December of this year, and perhaps Stenson, Kim, and Pereira could enter, but if that happens, LIV has made no announcement on the matter so far. The answer to this question is intertwined with numbers 3 and 4 (and probably numbers 1 and 2 as well). This is because the issue of promotion and demotion is important in distinguishing between open and closed shops where new players take up positions. Perhaps they are consulting with OWGR on this very matter. Perhaps there may be another route they can build through the Asian Tour or its International Series. Again, mostly questions.

Time to work on the answer…

News from Seattle

Headquarters ends on Monday.

After a hectic weekend, it was an unseasonably sunny Monday. Saturday night’s pouring rain and 80 mph winds caused the lights to flicker all night, and Sunday I photographed a hailstorm in Chambers Bay. But this is emotional weather, the kind of weather where you hit a medium bucket on your way home from work, where you have to take the dog for very long walks, and where the evening hours feel precious rather than dark and abbreviated. I hope it’s the same where you are.

See you next week!

Dylan Dethier welcomes your feedback at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

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