Since 2022, LIV moved ahead with patience. Disrupting the traditional golf scene and poaching star players with eye-watering money from the PGA Tour, it received massive backlash. But innovation takes time, and legacy tours eventually bend. Or so it thought. As 2026 approaches, the same star players are leaving the fray, money is not coming, and people are just not interested anymore. Patience will not work anymore. A start over will.

Giving the same assessment, Andy Johnson from Fried Egg Golf was quite blunt in his remarks. “Version one of LIV has not worked at all,” he clearly told Brandon Porath. “It’s pretty clear it has not worked. So, if you have unlimited money and you already have these players signed, why don’t you just try something brand new?”

Johnson offered a structural revamp of the league. Instead of guaranteed rosters and fixed teams, what if LIV proposed a weekly qualifier? A system where 30 spots are earned in every tournament. If you qualify, you play. Otherwise, you don’t. Right now, the league is like a retirement community for established stars. But with this system, young players would be ready to contest, especially if you offer $4 M weekly for a win.

“You’re playing for a chance to win $4 million every week. Maybe that’s the way they should go,” Johnson suggested.

A weekly qualifier format would require 72-hole stroke play. This means that only those who win or secure a high position would earn money. Currently, LIV has a salaried approach, paying at least $50,000 even if you come last. That’s exactly what Eugenio Chacarra meant when he said, “LIV was only about money.”

But this way: fail to advance and earn nothing. And then came Johnson’s sharpest observation.

“I think their one advantage is that they have these guys under contract, so they can’t go anywhere,” he mulled. “Just blow up the league.”

If such a qualifier-based system comes up, even the contracted players would be required to defend their place. Aging stars like Mickelson will regain purpose. At the same time, fans will get something that LIV never truly offered: consequences.

With Brooks Koepka announcing his exit from the Saudi-backed league, several questions have now emerged in front of LIV. Back when he signed the deal, he had four major wins under his name, and a fifth was about to come. A $100 M credited into his account, and a similar amount would have been dispatched had he agreed to renew his contract. Yet Koepka chose to leave.

As he leaves, and many underperformers are relegated, a roster problem now sits in front of LIV. As of today, Phil Mickelson‘s HyFlyers and Kevin Na‘s Iron Heads have vacant spots. There are no replacements in sight. More troublingly, the last genuine superstar acquisition was Jon Rahm, 3 years ago. Since then, it’s all dry.

And it’s not like LIV has not tried filling the spots. They tried to ‘woo’ 47th-ranked Si Woo Kim, but he turned down the eight-figure offer. Tommy Fleetwood said no in 2024, and Pat Perez left the ecosystem entirely just to participate in the Senior Tour. In the end, the league had to settle with Victor Perez and Laurie Canter.

In that regard, the weekly qualifier format becomes the classic disruption with which LIV entered the golf circuit. Cutlines, merit-based entry, higher stakes. What else would LIV need to solve all its problems? But it would work if it came out of its comfort.

Why LIV Golf chose comfort over reinvention

There’s a reason why LIV Golf has not tried to make such structural changes. Its early strategy was built on guaranteed, eight and nine-figure contracts. That locked players in regardless of their performance. If a true weekly qualifier model comes in, it would force renegotiations of deals that stand at $100 M or more per star. This is an operational and financial headache.

New CEO Scott O’Neil‘s entry has been made to ensure a safer change. LIV’s recent announcement of a 72-hole format from its previous 54-hole format is such an adjustment. O’Neil has been focusing more on OWGR legitimacy, something LIV thinks would retain players. Moreover, as long as it is funded by Saudi PIF, the league can afford to run slowly, with no forced innovation.

But with such a method, it risks losing its ‘innovative’ aspect, which initially made it stand out. Rory McIlroy articulated the contradiction perfectly:

“You’re just doing what everyone else is doing. So, what’s different, you know, apart from the money?”