LIV Golf Timeline: The Key Moments In The League’s History

A LIV Golf sign at the Team Championship — LIV Golf has seen plenty of ups and downs since its inception

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ever since rumors first emerged of a circuit to rival the PGA Tour, LIV Golf seemed destined to be one of the most disruptive forces ever seen in the men's professional game.

Scott O'Neil at LIV Golf Indianapolis — Scott O'Neil has insisted the season will continue "at full throttle"

Now in its fifth season, LIV Golf has had more than its fair share of ups and downs.

On the one hand, there have been legal disputes, hostility from rival circuits and criticism over the source of its funding. On the other hand, there have been successes, including signing some of the world's best players, receiving pathways into two of the Majors, and, after a long battle, finally securing world ranking points.

Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau shake hands — Some of the world's best players have signed for LIV Golf

So, is the latest news to hit LIV Golf the thing that will ultimately see it come to an end, or will we look back on it as just another notable moment in a timeline that has never been short of twists and turns?

That will only become clear in the fullness of time, with LIV Golf continuing a business-as-usual approach, for now at least.

Here is a look at the key events that have helped define LIV Golf through the years.

LIV Golf Timeline

2021

Greg Norman was appointed LIV Golf CEO in 2021

October 29th 2021: Greg Norman announced as CEO of LIV Golf Investments.

2022

Charl Schwartzel and LIV Golf officials with the LIV Golf London trophy — LIV Golf launched in 2022, with Charl Schwartzel winning the first event

February 3rd 2022: In an interview with Golf Digest, Phil Mickelson accuses the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed.”
February 18th 2022: An excerpt from the Alan Shipnuck book Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar is made public, where Mickelson describes the Saudis backing LIV Golf as “scary motherf*****s to get involved with” and admits the money offers “leverage” to reshape the PGA Tour.
February 22nd 2022: Mickelson releases a statement apologizing for his comments and announces “time away to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.”
February 24th 2022: Greg Norman writes a letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan questioning the legality of a potential lifetime ban for any player who joins another tour.
March 3rd 2022: The first of the Asian Tour's International Series, which is backed by LIV Golf with an investment $300m, takes place in Thailand.
March 16th 2022: LIV Golf Investments announces an eight-event, $255 million invitational series for 2022, to begin on June 9th.
May 10th 2022: The PGA Tour denies release requests for players wanting to compete in LIV’s first London event.
May 11th 2022: Norman faces a backlash for comments made about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi saying "we all make mistakes."
May 31st 2022: Former World No.1 Dustin Johnson is revealed among the initial intake of players for the first LIV Golf event.
June 6th 2022: Mickelson is confirmed for the inaugural London event.
June 9th 2022: The first LIV Golf Invitational Series event begins.
June 9th 2022: The PGA Tour suspends all of its players in the field.
June 10th 2022: Bryson DeChambeau joins LIV Golf.
June 11th 2022: Charl Schwartzel becomes the first individual winner in LIV Golf history.
June 22nd 2022: Brooks Koepka joins LIV Golf.
July 4th 2022: Suspensions issued by the DP World Tour against players competing on LIV Golf are temporarily lifted by Sports Resolutions in the UK, allowing them to continue until a hearing is conducted.
July 6th 2022: LIV Golf applies for Official Golf World Ranking points.
July 20th 2022: Henrik Stenson joins LIV Golf and is stripped of the European Ryder Cup captaincy.
July 27th 2022: LIV Golf announces the launch of the 2023 league with 48 players, 12 teams and 14 events.
August 3rd 2022: 11 LIV Golfers, including Mickelson and DeChambeau, file lawsuits against the PGA Tour challenging their suspensions.
August 9th 2022: LIV Golfers Hudson Swafford, Talor Gooch and Matt Jones are denied a case to play in the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs by a California judge.
August 27th 2022: LIV Golf joins the lawsuit against the PGA Tour.
August 30th 2022: Open champion Cameron Smith joins LIV Golf.
October 6th 2022: LIV Golf announces a partnership with MENA Tour in a bid to gain world ranking points.
October 10th 2022: Dustin Johnson wins the LIV Golf Individual Championship.
October 21st 2022: The PGA Tour files a lawsuit against the Saudi Public Investment Fund behind LIV Golf and its governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
October 30th 2022: The first season of LIV Golf concludes with the Team Championship at Trump National Doral. Dustin Johnson's 4Aces GC wins the title.
December 20th 2022: Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley confirms eligible LIV Golfers can play in the 2023 Masters.

2023

Brooks Koepka with the Wanamaker Trophy — Brooks Koepka became the first active LIV Golfer to win a Major at the PGA Championship

January 13th 2023: LIV Golf loses its bid to delay the discovery process in the PGA Tour lawsuit.
January 19th 2023: LIV Golf announces multi-year TV deal with The CW Network.
February 6th 2023: An arbitration on the future of LIV Golfers playing on the DP World Tour begins in London.
February 23rd 2023: The second LIV Golf season begins with its Mayakoba event in Mexico.
April 4th 2023: The DP World Tour wins its legal battle against LIV Golfers, allowing it to impose fines and sanctions on its players for competing in the league.
May 21st 2023: Brooks Koepka becomes the first active LIV Golfer to win a Major, at the PGA Championship.
June 6th 2023: The PGA Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund announce a "framework agreement" with the plan to merge. All litigation is ended.
October 9th 2023: The Official World Golf Ranking rejects LIV Golf's appliction for OWGR points.
October 15th 2023: Talor Gooch wins the LIV Golf Individual Championship.
December 4th 2023: LIV Golf stages its inaugural Promotions event.
December 7th 2023: Jon Rahm joins LIV Golf.

2024

Ripper GC celebrate winning the Team Championship — Ripper GC won the 2024 Team Championship

February 2nd 2024: The third LIV Golf season begins in Mexico with the roster expanded to 54 players and 13 teams.
February 28th 2024: Anthony Kim ends a 12-year hiatus to join LIV Golf.
March 5th 2024: LIV Golf officially withdraws its application for world ranking points.
March 18th 2024: Tiger Woods is part of PGA Tour delegation meeting with PIF in the Bahamas as merger talks continue.
June 16th 2024: Bryson Dechambeau becomes the second active LIV Golfer to win a Major, at the US Open.
September 15th 2024: Jon Rahm wins the LIV Golf Individual Championship.
September 22nd 2024: Cameron Smith's Ripper GC wins the LIV Golf Team Championship.
October 3rd 2024: Jay Monahan plays alongside Yasir Al-Rumayyan at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
October 16th 2024: Sports Business Journal reports that PIF is on the lookout for a new CEO to replace Greg Norman.

2025

Jon Rahm with the Individual Championship trophy — Jon Rahm won the 2025 Individual Championship

January 15th 2025: Scott O'Neil is appointed new LIV Golf CEO, replacing Greg Norman.
January 16th 2025: LIV Golf confirms multi-year TV deal with Fox Sports.
February 5th 2025: The US Open becomes the first Major to create a formal exemption pathway for LIV Golf players.
February 6th 2025: The PGA Tour confirms a White House meeting with US President Donald Trump in an effort to conclude the PIF deal.
February 6th 2025: The fourth LIV Golf season begins in Riyadh.
February 10th 2025: LIV Golfers receive a pathway into The Open.
July 11th 2025: LIV Golf confirms it has made a new application for world ranking points.
August 17th 2025: Jon Rahm wins the LIV Golf Individual Championship.
August 24th 2025: Legion XIII wins the LIV Golf Team Championship.
November 4th 2025: LIV Golf announces it will move to a 72-hole format for the 2026 season.
December 23rd 2025: Brooks Koepka announces he is leaving LIV Golf after four seasons.
December 30th 2025: LIV Golf announces that the 2026 league will expand to 57 players.

2026

In early 2026, Patrick Reed left LIV Golf

January 12th 2026: The PGA Tour announces the Returning Member Program, giving an immediate route back for Brooks Koepka.
January 28th 2026: Patrick Reed announces he is leaving LIV Golf.
February 3rd 2026: LIV Golf receives OWGR points for the top 10 finishers and ties at each of its individual events.
February 15th 2026: Anthony Kim creates headlines worldwide as the winner of LIV Golf Adelaide, his first victory anywhere for 16 years.
February 21st 2026: The DP World Tour announces eight of its members Golfers have been granted conditional releases to play on LIV Golf in 2026. Jon Rahm, whose Ryder Cup future is uncertain, is not among those named.
March 20 2026: Rahm withdraws his appeal against fines imposed on him by the DP World Tour for playing on LIV Golf. No agreement is reached with the DP World Tour to safeguard his Ryder Cup career.
April 15th 2026: Rumors circulate that PIF is pulling its funding from LIV Golf.
April 16th 2026: Amid the rumors, CEO Scot O'Neil says LIV Golf season to continue "at full throttle."

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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