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LIV Golf Is Changing Its Field Size for 2026 Season

The league will now have 57 players in tournaments with 13 teams plus five wildcards, three of those coming from a qualifier next month in Florida.

Bob Harig

LIV Golf will have more players than ever in its 2026 tournaments.
LIV Golf will have more players than ever in its 2026 tournaments. / Michele Eve Sandberg/Icon Sportswire

The LIV Golf league is going to 57 players in 2026, with an extra spot being awarded at next month’s Promotions event in Florida.

LIV will maintain its 13-team, four-man structure with five players competing as individuals. 

Two of those players, Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent and Japan’s Yosuke Asaji, were already decided at the conclusion of the Asian Tour’s International Series. 

On the same day that the Official World Golf Ranking announced it is still in discussions with LIV about accreditation, the move is viewed as another step in trying to gain approval. LIV previously announced it will go from playing 54 holes to 72 holes in 2026. 

The 57-player format allows for 19 groups of three players in LIV’s shotgun system. In 2025 the league played with 54 players, with just two wild cards in addition to the teams.

LIV Golf Promotions is set for Jan. 8–11 at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Fla. The four-day, 72-hole tournament will see the top three players head to LIV while the top 10 and ties will be exempt on the International Series.

Eighty-three players are currently registered for the event that will be deemed unauthorized by the PGA Tour, meaning any player with PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions or Korn Ferry status will not be granted a media rights release and is subject to disciplinary action if he elects to participate.

“LIV Golf is committed to moving the sport forward by expanding opportunity and access,” LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil said in a statement. “We are opening pathways—creating more chances for top talent to compete in the world’s golf league. Adding another qualifying spot strengthens our field and adds excitement to a season built on opportunity, competition, and growth.”

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Bob Harig
BOB HARIG

Bob Harig is a senior writer covering golf for Sports Illustrated. He has more than 25 years experience on the beat, including 15 at ESPN. Harig is a regular guest on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio and has written two books, "DRIVE: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods" and "Tiger and Phil: Golf's Most Fascinating Rivalry." He graduated from Indiana University where he earned an Evans Scholarship, named in honor of the great amateur golfer Charles (Chick) Evans Jr. Harig, a former president of the Golf Writers Association of America, lives in Clearwater, Fla.

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