A group of LIV Golf stars are set to be axed from the Saudi-funded series at the end of the year, with the bosses at the breakaway league planning to introduce relegation and promotion spots.
LIV has cemented a consistent 48-man roster for the 2023 season, with every player eligible to compete at every event and compete for a whopping £20 million each week. Their spots in the breakaway league are set to become slightly more precarious though.
Per Sports Illustrated, LIV will introduce plans surrounding their relegation programme later this week that will be implemented at the end of the current campaign.
According to the report all 14 team captains will be safe from the cut, as well as players who finish in the top half of the end-of-season rankings. But the 20 players finishing between 25th an 44th will fall into the 'open zone' and be at risk of being booted out of LIV Golf for 2024, unless signed by other teams.
Alluding to the plans, an unnamed LIV executive said: "So, in the same way that we've got jeopardy at the bottom end, where the bottom four get relegated, we wanted to make sure that there was the opportunity to control your own destiny at the top end.
"So, no matter how you got here, how you qualified or who you are, if you finished in the top 24 you're definitely coming back next year." The top three finishers on the International Series' 2023 Order of Merit will earn LIV Golf cards, and earn the right to compete in the breakaway league next year.
Players from across professional golf - including the PGA Tour and DP World Tour - are set to compete in a promotion tournament, with the top three earning a spot for 2024. One space will also be offered to the golfer that finishes on top of the Asian Tour's International Series Order of Merit. These players will then be added into a draft, where any spots left from the relegation system can be filled.
