'Objectively Bad' Or 'Marginal Gains'? Rating LIV Golf's Winter Transfer Business

Inside The Ropes' is the chance for Golf Monthly's tour experts to share their honest opinions on the biggest subjects in the game. This time, it's about LIV Golf's winter transfer business..

The LIV Golf League's 57-man roster for 2026 is now complete and each of the teams - as well as the five Wild Cards - can begin preparations in earnest ready for the first event in Riyadh early next month.

But if we rewind a few months, the situation for LIV was very different after six non-reserve players were relegated from the league following 13 individual events.

In the weeks that followed, Brooks Koepka left in favor of the PGA Tour and three more players lost their spots in the league after finishing in the Open Zone.

But in a bid to continue its evolution, LIV at least partially rebranded three of its franchises and added a whole heap of new talent during the transfer window, including Thomas Detry, Michael La Sasso, Victor Perez and Laurie Canter.

So, with seven completely new faces and a handful more returning to replace the 10 who have left LIV Golf, has the PIF-backed circuit made progress during its off-season or slipped backwards?

Let us know in the comments box below. In the meantime, four of Golf Monthly's tour experts have had their say.

Elliott Heath

LIV Golf only brought in six new players prior to the start of the 2025 campaign, before adding US Amateur champion Josele Ballester mid-season, so almost double the new faces this year is a big win for the league as its fans will be able to see a number of new players and it just simply freshens up things.

Brooks Koepka’s departure is a body blow for the league, though, and it has also lost a big name and ticket seller in Henrik Stenson as well as Kevin Na - so three captains in total have gone.

Reports stated Akshay Bhatia, Si Woo Kim and Marco Penge all turned down LIV Golf this winter, so that is a loss for the league and a bad look that it is now struggling to poach mid-tier PGA Tour players after signing the likes of then-Masters champion Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith right after he won The Open and was World No.2 - although, I do think that says more about the strength of the PGA Tour currently.

The new players are all solid, highlighted by WM Phoenix Open winner Thomas Detry and NCAA Division 1 champion Michael La Sasso - who could well be their best piece of business.

We’ve seen David Puig, Caleb Surratt and Ballester join straight from college and go on to have success so La Sasso could do the same and make a name for himself once he’s found his feet.

Anthony Kim seemingly making a huge leap with his game and managing to earn his spot back is a big win for the league and will certainly make me and many other fans tune in if/when he finds himself in contention.

There have been no big, big names arriving for the second year running (I have written how LIV has changed its strategy this year) but that’s no surprise as it targets a more global tour instead of trying to rival the PGA Tour in America.

Overall, losing Koepka is a bit of a disaster but 12 new players is a good freshen-up and means 12 chances to create stars, so I would say it has been a mildly successful offseason. I’d give them a 6.5/10.

Matt Cradock

It's safe to say that LIV Golf's off-season hasn't been the best. The loss of Koepka is the first instance of the PGA Tour poaching one of its players back and, while those who have joined the League have some wins behind them, they're not exactly the marquee players we've seen over the last few years.

From the outside, it seems that LIV Golf is focusing more on the worldwide game. The experienced Europeans who have joined will be more comfortable with the worldwide schedule, while the younger individuals can learn from the experienced heads that make up a large portion of LIV's roster.

I don't think LIV will go anywhere anytime soon but, what it should maybe worry about is losing its younger crop of players. In my opinion, the younger names have jumped to the circuit to build up their profiles and make themselves more of a franchise.

Of course, they get guaranteed competition but, if you were to look at the likes of Eugenio Chacarra, he set himself up for life with the prize money, then opted to move back to the DP World Tour and, potentially in the future, the PGA Tour, due to the fact it has the history and more opportunities of earning spots in Majors.

LIV has had a bad off-season and, the fact it was unsuccessful in signing the likes of Si Woo Kim, Akshay Bhatia and Max Greyserman, shows more players are staying loyal to the PGA Tour, knowing it has the better career opportunities.

Nick Bonfield

LIV has objectively had a bad off-season. While it might seem positive because Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith have opted to stay put (for now), losing Brooks Koepka – unquestionably one of the top-three assets on the roster – is a hammer blow.

Plus, there's now a precedent set in terms of a high-profile star leaving LIV and returning to the PGA Tour, which will definitely make some other members of the Saudi-backed tour think.

Patrick Reed has already admitted he'd consider returning under the same terms and Bryson's leverage is now so sky-high that it might be untenable to sign him to a new deal.

Yes, LIV has signed some new players, like Victor Perez and Ben An, but they don't move the needle. Is the roster weaker than it was at the start of 2025? Absolutely.

And frankly, if you're trying and failing to sign Si Woo Kim, Akshay Bhatia and Max Greyserman, you have issues.

Jonny Leighfield

If I'm honest, I don't think there is an awful lot of difference in LIV's overall roster from 2025 to 2026.

Losing Brooks Koepka was obviously a huge deal in terms of star power and LIV cannot deny that, but in the tier of players below the five-time Major winner, you could easily argue the PIF-backed circuit has made marginal improvements.

If you look at the changes from last year to this in a kind of man-for-man way, then La Sasso for Kjettrup - for example - is a clear upgrade. It could be argued that so is Perez and Detry for Jones and Ogletree.

It feels to me as though LIV is moving away from trying to sign the absolute cream of the crop from the PGA Tour and is now looking at how it can strengthen the core of the circuit. There are marginally fewer names in there which the casual golf fan has never heard of, which can only help it generate more interest.

However, as my colleagues have correctly pointed out, the fact that LIV has reportedly been unable to land the likes of Akshay Bhatia and Marco Penge doesn't exactly scream 'look at how much further along the process we are!' Then again, it was never going to win every signing battle.

Overall, the circuit has made a steady if unspectacular transfer window. While that might not be impressive as a standalone example, if it carries on making marginal gains, who knows where it could be in a few years' time?