LIV Golf Format
LIV Golf announces expanded 72-hole format for 2026 season
LIV Golf has announced that beginning in 2026, all events will be played over 72 holes. The move to four days of competition reflects LIV Golf’s global momentum and evolution to deliver more action and entertainment for fans
The grand old game – supercharged
The LIV Golf League is serving up even more high-octane action through 2026 and beyond, with the sport’s biggest personalities showcasing their skills on the world stage. Here’s how it works.
An Innovative Approach
The LIV Golf League features 54 players and 13 teams which compete throughout a 14-event season for the Individual Championship and Team Championship.
Four-day Events
The events will be competed from February to August and will take place Thursday-Sunday. The action begins with a shotgun start – meaning there will be 18 groups of players spread around the course at each hole, all teeing off at the same time.
Over four days of fast-paced competition there are no cuts, so all 54 players are in the game from the first drive right up to the final putt.
While 52 of those players will be attached to one of LIV Golf’s 13 teams, there are also two places for Wild Card players who will have the chance to impress during the year.
The player with the lowest score after 72 holes wins, but everybody has something to play for as their individual performance contributes to their team’s success.
Beginning in 2025, all four scores count in each round for every team. The scoring adjustment for the 2025 season will increase the drama and volatility on the team leaderboard throughout the three tournament days, putting added pressure on every player.
As with the individual competition, the team with the lowest total score wins the event's team title.
After four days, one winning player and one triumphant team will be celebrated on the podium.
Getting To The Point
At each event, the top 24 golfers on the leaderboard from the field of 54 players will earn points.
The winner earns 40 points. Second place claims 30 points and third place earns 24 points. For the remainder, there is a sliding scale of points down to places 21st to 24th, who earn one point each.
For the team competition, the top eight teams earn points: 32 points go to the winning team; 24 points go to the runner-up and 16 points will go to the third-place team.
There is a sliding scale of points awarded down to 8th place, which gets one point.
The Individual Championship
The Individual Championship standings are finalized after the 13th event of the year, just ahead of the Team Championship’s end-of-season showdown.
The player with the most points earned through the first 13 events wins the Individual Championship.
Each place in the final individual standings is important as it not only allocates prize money, it will also determine each player’s status for the following season.
The players are divided into the following three categories based on their final placing:
The Lock Zone (top 24 places)
These players are guaranteed a contract offer for the following season. If their old contract is expiring, their team will automatically offer an extension.
The Open Zone (25-48)
These players can stay in the league, but their current team is under no obligation to extend their contract if it’s expiring.
The Drop Zone (49 and below)
These players are vulnerable to relegation from the league but do have the opportunity to win their place back.
The Team Championship
Unlike the Individual Championship, the Team Championship is decided in a winner-takes-all showdown, with the thrill of match-play and the drama of survive-and-advance competition.
Match play vs stroke play
If you’re new to golf, match play means that two teams go head-to-head, and every hole is a simple win or lose until one team can’t be caught. Strokeplay means all the holes count towards a collective total, and the winner is the player (or team) with the lowest final score.
The LIV Golf Team Championship uses both match play and stroke play. For quarterfinals and semifinals, it’s matchplay: two individual (1 vs. 1) contests per match, and one alternate-shot foursomes contest (2 vs. 2).
On Sunday, it goes back to stroke play, which means each team plays together, and all four of their scores count as one. So the drama goes right down to the final hole - it’s not over until all the scores are in.