LIV Golf 2026 Season Player Preview: Thomas Pieters

The 2026 LIV Golf season starts next February under the lights in Riyadh, and in the next few months, we’ll take a detailed look at each player competing next season. Next up is a former Ryder Cup star with seven professional victories, 4Aces GC star Thomas Pieters.

LOOKING AHEAD

Pieters got better as the season progressed in 2025, and there is every reason to believe the trend will continue into 2026. The 33-year-old fits well with the 4Aces which should continue to yield positive results.

Pieters has long been acknowledged as one of the more tantalizing talents in the game. He has all the physical tools to compete with the best players in the world and as a player still in his prime, has time to unlock that potential. Pieters is a strong candidate to contend for his maiden LIV Golf win in 2026.

LOOKING BACK

After being acquired by the 4Aces prior to the 2025 season, Pieters gave the team the exact depth boost they needed. The big-hitting Belgian posted a career-best 19th in the 2025 individual standings and finished in the Lock Zone for the first time in three LIV Golf seasons. He caught fire mid-year with consecutive T4s in Korea and Virginia, then closed strong with back-to-back T8s in Chicago and Indianapolis.

WHAT THE STATS SAY

Strengths: Pieters has always been a tremendous driver of the golf ball, and although it wasn’t his best season off the tee in 2025, still had a solid year in the category and ranked 20th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. He averaged 316.4 yards off the tee, which ranked in the top third of the league, but hit only 55% of his fairways, which ranked in the bottom half of the league.

Pieters’ approach play was a major strength in 2025, as he ranked 15th in Strokes Gained: Approach, gaining .28 strokes per round on the field. His precision with his irons helped him perform well on the par-3 holes, which he played at a cumulative score of even par, which ranked T7 in the league.

Additionally, the Belgian was one of the best players in the league in Strokes Gained: Around the Green. He ranked 3rd in the category, gaining 0.48 strokes per round.

His average score per round relative to par was –1.49, tied for 11th best in the league.

Weaknesses: Outside of his driving accuracy, which wasn’t abysmal by any means, Pieters didn’t have any statistical weaknesses in 2025. He is a streaky putter historically and can certainly struggle to make putts, but that wasn’t necessarily the case last season. He ranked 24th in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining 0.07 strokes per round.

CAREER RESULTS

LIV GOLF REGULAR SEASON

TOTAL TROPHIES WON (1)

Individual Regular Season Wins: 0
Team Regular Season Wins: 1
Individual Championship: 0
Team Championship: 0

LIV GOLF CAREER SCORING 

Stroke Average Total: 69.78
Round 1 Average: 70.56
Round 2 Average: 69.31
Round 3 Average: 69.45

Lowest Round: 63

BOTTOM LINE

For a player as talented as Pieters, not having recorded a single podium finish over his first three seasons in the league is disappointing. 2025 was a strong year for the Belgian as he notched four top-10 finishes and nine top-24 finishes, but he didn’t truly contend for a win in any event.

Pieters has been a slow starter on LIV Golf, so the move to 72 holes should benefit him going forward. He’s shown serious signs of momentum towards the end of last season and into the LIV Golf offseason. I expect the 4Aces GC star to improve on his best LIV Golf season and raise the bar even higher in 2026.