WESTFIELD, Ind. — At the end of the 2024 season, Bubba Watson’s LIV Golf playing days could have been over.
The RangeGoats captain failed to finish in the top 48 in the season standings (53rd to be exact), putting him in the league’s “Relegation Zone” of players to be dropped and only able to return via qualifying. But a loophole allowing captains to return for business reasons saved his spot.
Through seven of 13 individual events this season, the two-time Masters champion is 29th in season points and well above relegation—which for next year wouldn’t include any loopholes, as LIV Golf has tightened that part of its format.
And Watson thinks that’s the right move.
“Look at any tour around the world, they have that, right? You lose your card [for poor play],” said Watson, appearing at a media event for LIV Golf Indianapolis in August. “I mean, even the Champions Tour has that. I think it’s great—we have to do that, we have to start setting a precedent to get new people in, new faces in. That’s how it’s gonna grow.”
The move is viewed as a way to appeal to the Official World Golf Ranking, which denied LIV Golf’s application for ranking points in October 2023. Player turnover and pathways to the league were listed as primary criteria in the decision.
LIV Golf is reportedly interested in resubmitting an application as it nears the end of its fourth season with still no ranking points for its players.
“For the world ranking part, I think the majors are showing that the world rankings need to be changed or modified because look at what we’ve done in the majors, only having so many people in a major, like the PGA Championship,” Watson said.
Last week at Quail Hollow, LIV golfers Bryson DeChambeau (T2), Joaquin Niemann (T8) and Jon Rahm (T8) were among the top 16 finishers, with Rahm tied for the lead with seven holes to go before a poor closing stretch that left him well back of winner Scottie Scheffler.
“That’s gonna be our stepping stone,” said Watson, who finished T14 in last month’s Masters. “The relegation is just to show that we are a true competition and people do get cut, just like any other sport.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bubba Watson Supports LIV Golf’s Tougher Stance on Relegation.