First Look: 2026 LIV Golf Promotions

BASIC INFO 

When: January 8-11, 2026

Where: Black Diamond Ranch, Lecanto, Florida

Competition: 72 holes of stroke play

Field: 83 players (63 players to start Rd. 1; 20 players exempt into Rd. 2)

At Stake: Top three finishers earn full-time spots as wild card players into the 2026 LIV Golf League. Top 10 finishers and ties earn exemption into the 2026 International Series tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour.

Purse: $1.5 million USD ($200,000 for first place; $150,000 for second place; $100,000 for third place)

Local Tee Time: Rounds scheduled to begin approximately 10 a.m. ET each day. 

SCHEDULE 

ROUND 1 / THURSDAY, JAN. 8

63 players will compete in 18-hole stroke play. Top 20 and ties advance to Round 2.

ROUND 2 / FRIDAY, JAN. 9

The Round 1 survivors will be joined by 20 players exempt into Round 2. Scores will be reset and players will compete in 18-hole stroke play. Top 20 and ties advance to the weekend.

ROUND 3 / SATURDAY, JAN. 10

Scores are reset and players will play the first 18 holes of a 36-hole shootout.

ROUND 4 / SUNDAY, JAN. 11

Scores carry over from Round 3, with a final 18 holes to determine the top three players who will earn LIV Golf entry for 2026. A playoff will be used if necessary to determine the winner and/or second and third place.

TWO DOZEN COUNTRIES

A total of 23 different countries are represented by the 83 players. 

Australia 13
USA 13
South Korea 8
Thailand 8
England 6
South Africa 6
New Zealand 4
Germany 4
France 3
Japan 3
Mexico 2
Spain 2
Austria 1
Chinese Taipei 1
Denmark 1
Finland 1
Ireland 1
Norway 1
Peru 1
Philippines 1
Sweden 1
Wales 1
Zimbabwe 1 

AGE BREAKDOWN

37 Players in their 20s
40 Players in their 30s
6 Players in their 40s

Youngest Player 

Spain’s Pablo Ereno, who turned 22 on Dec. 30, 2025 

Oldest Player

Australia’s Wade Ormsby, who at age 45 is 20 days older than his countryman and fellow competitor Matt Jones. 

LIV GOLF EXPERIENCE

15 players have made at least one LIV Golf start 

Player/LIV Golf starts/Last appeared 

Matt Jones/50/2025
Andy Ogletree/31/2025
Anthony Kim/23/2025
Chase Koepka/22/2023
Ben Campbell/17/2025
Kieran Vincent/15/2024
Wade Ormsby/14/2025
John Catlin/9/2025
Sadom Kaewkanjana/8/2022
Hennie du Plessis/4/2022
Ollie Schniederjans/3/2025
Travis Smyth/3/2022
Oliver Bekker/1/2022
Luis Carrera/1/2025
Max Rottluff/1/2025

BY THE NUMBERS

18 Top 50 players on the 2025 International Series final rankings in the field

2 Former Ryder Cup players in the field - Anthony Kim (USA) and Chris Wood (Europe)

39 Number of players in the field who won at least one pro world-ranking golf tournament in 2025

50 Number of players in the field who won at least one golf tournament in the last two calendar years

67 Total number of wins by those 50 players in the last two years

PLAYER NOTES 

AK EYES ANOTHER YEAR

Former USA Ryder Cupper Anthony Kim returned to professional golf as a LIV Golf wild card player in 2024. After spending two seasons in the league, he’s hopeful of earning full-time status for 2026 through the Promotions tournament. Kim posted his best result since his comeback, finishing T5 at the PIF Saudi International in November. 

THE OPEN ZONERS

Ben Campbell and Matt Jones each finished inside the Open Zone during the 2025 LIV Golf season, but that did not guarantee them spots for 2026. Both players are among the 20 exempt players into Round 2. Jones is an original LIV Golf member, having competed in all 50 of the league’s events with Ripper GC, while Campbell was a full-time player for RangeGoats GC in 2025.

Q-SCHOOL REBOUND

Jonathan Brightwell was lurking near the qualifying cutline entering the final round at the PGA Tour’s Q-School second-stage tournament in Valdosta, Georgia in December. But the round was canceled after weather impacted the schedule, denying Brightwell and other hopefuls a chance to move up. The former top-30 world amateur now has his sights set on a LIV Golf spot.

WEST POINT GRAD

American Marcus Plunkett graduated from West Point in 2016 and became a Transportation Officer in the U.S. Army. After his five-year service duty ended in May of 2021, he has since pursued his passion for professional golf. He made 20 starts in 2025 on the Korn Ferry Tour.

CHASE-ING IT

Chase Koepka authored arguably the most celebrated shot in LIV Golf’s first four seasons. His ace at the Watering Hole during the league’s first visit to Adelaide in 2023 set off a wild celebration and resonates even now. Koepka, an original LIV Golf member, played for older brother Brooks’ Smash GC team during the first two seasons. He was unable to participate in last year’s Promotions tournament due to shoulder surgery.

BEWARE OF KIERAN

Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent is the only player in the field with previous LIV Golf Promotions success. In 2023 in Abu Dhabi, Vincent survived a three-for-two playoff to earn a full-time spot for the 2024 LIV Golf League season. Vincent and Jinichiro Kozuma captured the final two spots, with Laurie Canter the odd man out. Since then, Canter has posted two DP World Tour wins and recently signed to join Majesticks GC for the 2026 season.

WOOD X 2

England’s Chris Wood and Australia’s Christopher Wood not only share a similar name but also a similar rank atop their respective golf tours in 2025. When the field was announced, the Englishman ranked No. 1 in points on the MENA Golf Tour while the Australian Wood ranked No. 1 on the PGA Tour of Australasia. 

COURSE 

LIV Golf Promotions is being held for the first time in the United States following previous competitions in Abu Dhabi, UAE (2023) and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2024) and will take place on The Ranch course at Black Diamond Ranch, designed by famed architect Tom Fazio. 

The course features doglegs, length, and elevation changes with fairways framed by oaks, sand, and native vegetation that will present a championship test for players.

Fazio has said that the Ranch's 16th, 17th and 18th holes represent the three best finishing holes he has ever designed, setting up a dramatic finish for the competition. 

PROMOTIONS HISTORY 

LIV Golf Promotions made its debut in 2023 as the pathway for elite players from across the global golf ecosystem to earn their place in the LIV Golf League

The inaugural Promotions tournament was held at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates in December 2023. The top three players earned spots for the 2024 LIV Golf League – Finland’s Kalle Samooja, Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma and Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent. Samooja joined Cleeks Golf Club, Kozuma joined Iron Heads GC and Vincent joined the expansion Legion XIII team.

The second Promotions tournament was held at Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia in December 2024, with winner Chieh-Po Lee of Chinese Taipei earning playing privileges for the 2025 LIV Golf season. Lee competed as one of LIV Golf’s wild card players in 2025.