Does LIV Golf need another star?

Check out our writers and editors for their unfiltered opinions on the hottest topics in the sport every week, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss LIV Golf’s offseason, renovations at St. Andrews, and more.

It was recently reported that Dustin Johnson has renewed his contract with LIV Golf, and Bryson DeChambeau has also been transparent about his contract. While some specific contract details for other LIV stars have not been made public, what is more important for LIV this offseason: Keeping its current stars, or do they need to make a splash again like Jon Rahm did and sign a big-name player like they did a few years ago?

Josh Berhow, Managing Editor (@Josh_Berhow): You might say that LIV should be increased significantly. Anthony Kim joined in 2024 and was a surprising and compelling name despite his poor performance. I wonder, though, if any existing, established PGA Tour pros would leave at this point, like another guy of Rahm’s caliber. Part of me thinks that loyalty has been solidified and luring a big name away will be a lot harder than it sounds. Bringing back some key players should probably be a priority.

Sean Zak, Senior Editor (@sean_zak): LIV doesn’t need another star. It still needs seven stars. The league simply doesn’t have enough elite firepower to win a large audience. Joaquin Niemann is great; Cam Smith is not. Bryson DeChambeau has been great; Brooks Koepka has been up and down. Sergio Garcia did pretty well; Phil Mickelson didn’t. As I’ve said for three years, all the money in the world can buy big-name players, but it doesn’t guarantee they’ll play great, compelling golf.

Josh Schrock, Editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): Now everyone feels entrenched in their respective positions. As Zak points out, LIV needs more stars to push forward. I doubt these moves already exist. Their best move would be to re-sign their big-name players. If they lose one or two of their top players, the air will really start to leave the balloon.

Tom McKibbin, a player who turned down an invitation from the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf, earned invitations to the 2026 Masters and Open Championship after winning the Hong Kong Open on Sunday. A few months ago, Augusta National and the R&A announced that the winners of six national open tournaments (Scotland, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and South Africa) would qualify for the two majors. Still no world ranking points, are these new exemptions good recruiting points for LIV?

bellhau: They’re not bad for recruiting players as it does provide extra opportunities for pros, but it targets the wrong type of players. Yes, LIV could benefit from bringing in young talent, but a bunch of up-and-coming Tom McKibbins won’t turn heads. They want big-name stars; these people probably aren’t worried about these extra invitations because ideally they don’t need them.

Zack: Not really. In order to gain primary access through these events, you almost always have to win. Just like in a big field, you perform well and beat everyone else. This is definitely not a carrot.

Schrock: That’s better than not having any access, but it’s still small and won’t attract the players they need to drive growth.

When these exemptions were announced, they came with the caveat that the winner of the PGA Tour Fall Series will no longer receive a Masters exemption. Do you like this change? Or would you prefer the winners of the fall events to receive these awards?

bellhau: I prefer this. The focus in the fall is to earn a spot on the PGA Tour. Additionally, the Masters is more global than ever. This makes sense.

Zack: There are no parking spaces for cars at the Fall Series events, which doesn’t bother me. I wouldn’t mind Augusta National extending more invitations via year-end OWGR rankings, which are more indicative of skill than a week of warm-up games in weaker fields.

Schrock: I prefer to invite the National Open winner rather than the weaker PGA Tour player. Golf is a global game and the Masters has prioritized the global nature of the sport in recent years. Continue to earn a card in the FedExCup Fall Series and invite players who want to earn a trip to Augusta National to the National Open.

The Old Course at St Andrews, the world’s most respected links golf course, will add bunkers and be lengthened by 132 yards ahead of the 2027 British Open, with R&A chief governance officer Grant Moir saying the move was “appropriate” and “appropriate” to suit the way the modern game is played. Does increasing the length of a history course like this worry you?

Bo Hao: I think it’s a bit jarring for the Old Course to make an announcement like this. If a country club that’s over 60 years old has to extend its course because of modern equipment, so be it, but it gives you pause when you hear some of golf’s greatest cathedrals basically saying “that’s not what we have right now.” We don’t like to change classic things – golf courses, cars, recipes, you get the idea. I’d love to see how the house looks like since there isn’t a lot of space to work with. Makes you wonder if these tees will remain in future post-rollback Opens at St. Andrews.

Zack: It’s just hard to see where the new tee boxes will be placed on certain holes. The lengthened old course began to eat away at its interior space. But at the end of the day, this is mostly for Open Championship week, so we don’t talk about it for more than a month every five years.

Schrock: I don’t know if that worries me, but it speaks to the broader issues professional golf faces with distance and equipment. We want to see the best players in the world play meaningful matches on historic grounds. We want to see them play the way the court should be played. When I attended the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Truist Championship this year, the difference between a pitch that was played in no conditions on the first day and a windy and rainy second round showed how challenging these golden era pitches can still be when the ball isn’t flying for miles. We won’t talk about changes to the old curriculum other than those that happen every five years, but it speaks to the larger issue.

Happy birthday to Gary Player, who turned 90 on Saturday. What is your most memorable interaction or story about the Black Knight?

Bo Hao: I met Gary a few weeks into my job ten years ago and we did sit-ups together and shot a video that I believe has never seen the light of day. He was loud and energetic and kept slapping my belly, which sounds about right when you think of Gary Player.

Zack: Honestly, my most memorable interaction was watching the player smack Josh in the belly.

Schrock: Sorry, I missed the opportunity for the Black Knight to slap Beihao in the belly.