The Impact and Evolution of LIV Golf on New Zealand Golf

LIV Golf arrived in 2022 as the most disruptive force professional golf had seen in decades, and by the 2026 season it looks very different from the breakaway league that first split the sport. This guide focuses on how LIV Golf has evolved rather than simply what it is: the major 2026 shift away from its signature 54-hole format, its long fight to earn world-ranking points, the funding questions now hanging over it, and the one genuine New Zealand story in the middle of it all. For a plain-English primer on the league’s origins and basic rules, see our companion explainer on what LIV Golf is; here we concentrate on impact and change, and what both mean for golf fans in Auckland.

What LIV Golf Is, in One Paragraph

LIV Golf is a professional golf league launched in 2022 and financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund. It recruited established stars with large guaranteed contracts and built its identity around a faster, franchise-style product marketed as “Golf, but louder.” The three things that made it instantly different from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour were a shorter tournament, a team competition running alongside the individual one, and a no-cut policy so every player competes all the way to the final day. Those foundations still exist, but the details around them have changed markedly, which is where the “evolution” part of this story begins.

How the Format Changed in 2026: From 54 Holes to 72

The single biggest change is that LIV Golf abandoned its trademark 54-hole format for the 2026 season and moved to 72 holes played over four days, the same distance as a standard PGA Tour or major event. From 2022 through 2025 a LIV event was 54 holes across three days — the “LIV” name itself is 54 in Roman numerals — so the switch is a real departure from the branding the league was built on. Alongside the extra day, the regular-season field expanded to 57 players for 2026 (it was 54 in 2025), while the number of teams stayed at 13.

Two of the original hallmarks were kept. Events still use a shotgun start, and there is still no cut. So the 2026 product is best understood as a hybrid: a traditional four-round, 72-hole competition wrapped in LIV’s faster presentation and team layer. Much of the reason for the change ties directly to the world-ranking dispute covered further down — a 72-hole event is far closer to what the ranking system was designed to measure.

The Shotgun Start, Explained

A shotgun start means every group tees off at the same moment from a different hole, so the whole field begins and finishes together rather than in a long procession of tee times spread across the morning and afternoon. The practical benefit LIV promotes is fairness: because everyone plays at once, no one is unfairly punished by facing a calm morning while another group battles an afternoon gale. For a viewer in New Zealand, it also compresses the broadcast into a shorter, more predictable window than the sprawling coverage of a conventional event where play can run for the better part of a day.

The Team Competition and How Scoring Works

LIV’s 13 teams each field four players and carry their own name, captain and branding — the likes of Legion XIII, Crushers GC, Ripper GC and Fireballs GC. A team result and an individual result are decided at the same event. Under the 2026 format, each team’s placing is determined by the cumulative individual stroke-play scores of its players across the four rounds, so consistent scoring from the whole roster matters rather than one hot round. The idea is to borrow the tribal loyalty of Formula 1 or football and give golf something it has historically lacked: a season-long team story, capped by a separate season-ending Team Championship. If you follow leaderboards closely, it is a different mental exercise — you are tracking how one player’s birdie nudges both an individual score and a team total at once.

The No-Cut Policy and Guaranteed Money

No cut means every player who tees off on day one plays all four rounds, and it works hand in hand with LIV’s financial model. On a traditional tour, players who miss the halfway cut go home with little or nothing, so a bad two days can wipe out a week’s earnings and travel costs. LIV instead guarantees a payout to the whole field, on top of the guaranteed contracts that drew stars across in the first place. Supporters say this rewards the entertainment value of keeping every big name on the course through Sunday; critics counter that removing the cut removes jeopardy and the weekly pressure that defines elite golf. For New Zealand players in particular, the financial cushion is significant — the cost of competing internationally from this far away is punishing, and guaranteed income can be the difference between sustaining a career and walking away.

World Ranking Points: The OWGR Standoff and How It Ended

For most of its existence LIV Golf earned no Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points at all, and that was the league’s most damaging practical problem. The OWGR is the points system that helps decide who qualifies for the four majors — the Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and The Open. Because LIV events were 54 holes with no cut, no qualifying pathway and little roster turnover, the OWGR board denied LIV’s application in October 2023. LIV then withdrew that application in March 2024, meaning its players earned no ranking points from their weekly results and steadily slid down the standings, threatening their major eligibility.

That changed for 2026. LIV resubmitted its application in July 2025, and having moved to the 72-hole format, it was granted OWGR points beginning with the 2026 season — but only for the top 10 finishers in each event, not the full field. The board noted LIV still falls short of several standard criteria, including an average field of 57 against a preferred minimum of 75, its no-cut events and its restricted entry pathways. For a Kiwi fan trying to work out who the world’s best players really are, it is a meaningful step: LIV results now count toward the same rankings used across the rest of the game, even if only partially. If ranking systems interest you, our overview of how golf rankings work gives the wider context.

The New Zealand Connection: Danny Lee and the Kiwi Pathway

The genuine New Zealand angle on LIV Golf is Danny Lee. The Auckland-raised professional joined LIV in 2023 with the Iron Heads GC team (now competing as Korean Golf Club) and won in only his second start, taking LIV Golf Tucson that year in a four-way playoff. Before switching he had played more than 300 PGA Tour events and reached a career-high of world number 34, so his move was one of the more notable Australasian departures from the traditional tours. His presence gives NZ viewers a direct rooting interest that the article’s original vague references never captured.

The contrast is just as instructive. New Zealand’s other leading professional, Ryan Fox, has stayed on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour rather than joining LIV, and used that route to win twice on the PGA Tour in 2025 (the Myrtle Beach Classic and the RBC Canadian Open). The two careers show the fork the modern game now offers: the guaranteed money and team format of LIV, or the traditional ranking-and-qualifying path. LIV’s “Promotions” event functions like a qualifying school, giving players from any tour a shot at a roster spot, though it remains a narrow door. Kiwi fans get to see both worlds up close — Lee, for instance, has returned to play the NZ Open, one of the few chances to watch a LIV winner on home soil.

The Funding Question Hanging Over LIV

LIV Golf’s future funding became the league’s dominant off-course story heading into and through 2026. The Saudi Public Investment Fund, which bankrolled LIV from the start, is set to wind down its financial support at the end of the 2026 season. In parallel, Yasir Al-Rumayyan — the PIF governor who chaired the LIV board and drove the project — stepped down as chairman, and LIV announced a new independent board, naming Gene Davis and Jon Zinman to lead it, tasked with securing long-term commercial partners.

What this means in plain terms is that LIV is moving from being underwritten by a single sovereign backer toward needing to stand on its own commercial feet. That transition, rather than any single tournament, is the biggest variable in whether the league looks the same in a few years. Reports of the league’s imminent collapse should be treated cautiously — there is a lot of speculation — but the shift away from open-ended PIF funding is confirmed and material, and it sits behind many of the format and ranking compromises described above.

The Sportswashing Debate, Fairly Stated

No neutral account of LIV Golf can skip the criticism that has followed it since day one. Because the league is funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, critics argue it is a form of “sportswashing” — using a popular sport to soften or distract from a country’s human-rights record. Players who joined defended the move as expanding opportunity and player choice, while opponents pointed to Saudi Arabia’s record on press freedom, women’s rights and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The point here is not to resolve that argument but to note it exists and shapes how many fans, including in New Zealand, view the league; you can read a general background on the concept at Wikipedia. Weighing the golf against the geopolitics is a judgement each viewer makes for themselves.

How LIV Reaches Auckland Fans

For New Zealand audiences, access has generally been easy and often free, which is part of LIV’s growth strategy. Coverage has been distributed through free-to-air and streaming partners and on the league’s own YouTube channel in many markets, alongside traditional sports broadcasters, with the aim of building an audience quickly rather than maximising short-term rights fees. The presentation leans into on-course music, team colours and a festival atmosphere pitched at a younger crowd — a style that feels familiar to fans used to the energy of Super Rugby or the NRL.

The trickle-down to local golf is real but modest, and worth stating carefully rather than overselling. Shotgun starts have long been standard for club charity and corporate days in Auckland precisely because they get everyone finished together for prize-giving, so that is more a shared convenience than a LIV invention. Interest in shorter, more social team formats has grown across the game, and following professional stars still influences what amateurs try in the pro shop — but the specifics vary club to club. If you want to work on your own game rather than just watch, our guides such as following the PGA Tour are a better starting point than assuming the pro format maps directly onto club play.

Common Misconceptions About LIV Golf

Several beliefs about LIV are out of date or were never quite right, so it is worth correcting them directly.

• “LIV players are banned from the majors.” They are not. The majors are run by separate bodies, and LIV players can still qualify through past wins, exemptions and rankings; several have contended and won majors since joining.
• “LIV events earn no world-ranking points.” This was true until 2025 but changed for 2026, when the top 10 finishers at each LIV event began earning OWGR points.
• “LIV is still a 54-hole league.” Not since 2026 — it now plays 72 holes over four days, keeping the shotgun start and no-cut rules.
• “There are no New Zealanders involved.” Danny Lee has played on LIV since 2023 and won an event in his debut season.

The Bottom Line for New Zealand Fans

LIV Golf’s real story in 2026 is one of convergence, not just disruption. By moving to 72 holes, earning partial world-ranking points and forming an independent board to chase new investors, the league has quietly shed several of the features that first set it apart from the established tours. For Auckland fans the practical takeaways are simple: the format now resembles a normal four-round event with a team layer on top, LIV results count toward the rankings that decide major fields, there is a genuine Kiwi to follow in Danny Lee, and the league’s long-term shape depends on whether it can replace Saudi funding with durable commercial backing. Whichever way the professional game settles, following it from New Zealand is now a matter of choosing which tour’s storylines you want to track — and increasingly, the same players show up across both.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many holes is a LIV Golf event now?

From the 2026 season, LIV Golf events are 72 holes played over four days. That replaced the original 54-hole, three-day format used from 2022 through 2025, though the shotgun start and no-cut rules were kept.

Do LIV Golf results count toward the world rankings?

Yes, but only partially. Starting in 2026, the top 10 finishers at each LIV event earn Official World Golf Ranking points. Before that, LIV events earned no ranking points after the league withdrew its application in March 2024.

Are there any New Zealand players in LIV Golf?

Yes. Danny Lee, who grew up in Auckland, joined LIV in 2023 and won LIV Golf Tucson that season in a four-way playoff. Ryan Fox, New Zealand’s other leading professional, has instead stayed on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

Can LIV players still play in the Masters and The Open?

Yes, when they qualify. The majors are run by separate organisations, and LIV players can enter through past major wins, standing exemptions and world-ranking position, which is why several LIV players still appear at the majors each year.

Is LIV Golf’s future secure?

It is uncertain. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is winding down its financial backing after the 2026 season, and LIV has formed a new independent board to seek long-term commercial partners, so the league is moving away from single-source funding.