LIV Golf is going to borrow a page out of the playbook of Premier League Soccer.
As first reported by SI.com, the bottom four finishers in the 2023 season-long LIV standings will be relegated from the league. Three players will move up via a qualifying tournament billed as a “Promotions” event, while the fourth spot in the 48-man league will go to the winner of the money list for the LIV International Series, which will be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and LIV Golf.
This will provide a place for players such as former U.S. Amateur champs James Piot and Andy Ogletree, who committed to LIV early on but have struggled to get starts as more prominent names have signed on, to work their way to the top level and play for lucrative purses during the 14-event schedule.
Beginning next season, when LIV Golf expands from eight events this season to 14, the league will begin tracking season-long standings and issue points to the top 24 finishers in each of its events.
The report noted that some team captains and certain players may be exempt from relegation based on their contractual agreement with the league. Also, a team captain has the right to essentially cut a player from his team and seek a replacement.
The series, funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to sportswash its human rights record. Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.
The “Promotions” event is expected to start with a field of 80-100 golfers and be played over three or four days with a potential 36-hole finale. The relegation-promotion vehicle could help LIV Golf makes its case for deserving Official World Golf Ranking points as it provides a way for players to earn their way into LIV based on merit.
Players exempt into its version of Q-School include the following:
Nos. 2-32 on the money list from the International Series, which is part of the Asian Tour
Major winners from the last 5 years.
Reigning amateur champions (U.S. Amateur, British Amateur, Latin-American Amateur, Asia-Pacific Amateur, NCAA champion)
Top 75 in the Official World Golf Ranking
PGA Tour and DP World Tour winners from the previous year
Any relegated player from LIV Golf in the last two years
Members of the last Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup teams
The venue for the Promotions event has yet to be determined and is expected to be announced by the end of LIV’s current season in late October.