Matt Jones And Ben Campbell Dropped From LIV Golf League

Matt Jones covers his mouth with his hand (left) and Ben Campbell hits an iron shot (right)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Matt Jones and Ben Campbell have been dropped by their respective teams in the LIV Golf League, it has emerged.

However, among those exempt into round two at Black Diamond Ranch were a number of players who had featured in the LIV Golf League this past season - including Jones and Campbell.

Their appearance on the entry list ultimately revealed they had both lost their spots in the PIF-backed circuit after finishing the most recent campaign inside the Open Zone.

Jones had been a member of LIV since it launched in 2022, playing for the all-Australian Punch GC in the inaugural campaign before it rebranded to Ripper GC from 2023.

Having gone on to win multiple team titles with Cam Smith's men, the 45-year-old helped Ripper to the season-long team prize in 2024 and was signed up for a fourth consecutive year shortly after.

However, he will now try to earn a place back after ending the year 40th in LIV's rankings - the lowest position of any Ripper pro. His season highlight was a T4th result at LIV Golf Andalucia while his next best finish was T17th in Mexico.

Meanwhile, Campbell joined LIV as a Reserve player in 2024 and played for Ripper, Legion XIII and Majesticks alongside a busy schedule competing on the Asian Tour's International Series.

The New Zealand pro was then called up to play for Watson's RangeGoats in 2025, finishing 36th and ending the year as the second-highest RangeGoats player on the rankings ahead of Peter Uihlein in 38th and Matthew Wolff in 42nd. Campbell finished third in Singapore but failed to break inside the top-15 at any other event.

The duo's exit is the latest in an increasingly busy period for LIV Golf, with Sergio Garcia recently signing a new 'multi-year' deal just days after Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter had also inked fresh terms.

The Majesticks line-up appears to be complete now with Westwood and Poulter re-joining Sam Horsfield and new signing Laurie Canter in an all-English quartet for 2026.

Luis Masaveu has returned to Fireballs GC alongside David Puig and Josele Ballester while Abraham Ancer has switched red for a light blue and Joaquin Niemann's Torque GC, taking the place of Mito Pereira who was relegated this year.

There is no sign of Pereira's name in the preliminary field for the 2026 LIV Golf Promotions, though, so his future plans remain unclear at this stage.

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time.

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