First LIV Golf Promotions event is set for December in Abu Dhabi, but who will play?

When LIV Golf’s application for Official World Golf Ranking points was rejected, the reason given was due to its closed-door shop. Come December, the upstart circuit will take its first step to provide a pathway for players.

The inaugural LIV Golf Promotions event – initially reported by Golfweek in February – will be held Dec. 8-10 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club and will see three players punch their ticket for the league in 2024. Four rounds will be played over the three days, with 36 holes on the final day. The purse is $1.5 million and players must pay a “nominal” entry fee (when LIV opened entries for its first event in London in 2022, “Tiger Woods” entered 216 times).

The promotions event is the same week as the PGA Tour/LPGA mixed team event, the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. It’s also the same week as the DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club in South Africa.

Here’s how the event will work:

Eligibility criteria

A tee marker is displayed prior to the LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on October 18, 2023 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

Players can qualify a handful of ways for the first round, and some will hold exemptions until the second round. At the conclusion of the first day, the top 20 and ties will advance to Saturday’s second round, where scores will reset, and the advancing field will be joined by those who have round-two exemptions. Once again, the top 20 players and ties from round two will advance to the final day, where scores reset once more before the 36-hole finale.

Here’s how players can enter:

Round 1 qualifiers

1. Members of the 2023 Walker and Palmer Cup Teams
2. Winner and runner-up of the following most recent amateur events: U.S. Amateur Championship, Amateur Championship, Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Latin America Amateur Championship, European Amateur Championship, NCAA Championship (Individual), Eisenhower Trophy (Individual)
3. Leading 15 available players from within the top 40 WAGR rankings as of November 20, 2023 (excluding players exempt into round 2)
4. Leading 25 available players from within the top 40 on the final International Series 2023 Rankings, (excluding those exempt into round two)
5. Leading 3 available players from inside the top 5 from each of the following professional Tours as of November 20, 2023: Japan Golf Tour (Money Ranking), KPGA Korean Tour (Genesis Point Ranking), Sunshine Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia
6. Tournament winners from the Asian Tour in 2023 and Korn Ferry Tour in 2023
7. Leading 30 available players from within the top 300 in The Universal Golf Rankings (TUGR) as of November 20, 2023 (excluding those who are exempt into Round 2)
8. Event invitations as determined by LIV Golf League

Round 2 qualifiers

1. The top 2 players in the WAGR rankings as of November 20, 2023
2. Players ranked 2-8 on the final International Series 2023 Rankings
3. Leading 5 available players from within the top 30 of the Final 2023 DP World Tour and Korn Ferry Tour Order of Merits / Rankings
4. Winners of PGA Tour and DP World Tour-sanctioned tournaments in the 2022 and 2023 calendar years
5. Ryder Cup and President’s Cup participants from 2019 – 2023
6. Winners of major championships from 2019 – 2023
7. The leading 15 available players from within the top 150 in The Universal Golf Rankings (TUGR) as of November 20, 2023
8. Players relegated or without a contract for the following season from the Final 2023 LIV Golf Individual Standings
9. Event invitations as determined by LIV Golf League

Changes in exemption criteria

When initial plans for the event were shared with media at LIV’s season opener in Mexico, one of the criteria was “Players ranked within the top 200 of the Official World Golf Ranking” (despite LIV’s players and leadership saying the rankings had lost credibility even before points were rejected last month).

When asked at Trump National Doral when the OWGR was removed from the criteria, a LIV official said “Quite recently” with a chuckle. The league wants to make sure its promotions event is representative of the quality of players who should have the opportunity to join LIV, and the league doesn’t feel the OWGR does that at the moment.

How to watch

The LIV Golf Broadcast team (L-R); Jerry Foltz, Troy Mullins, David Feherty, Su-Ann Heng, Dom Boulet and Arlo White ahead of this week’s tournament of at the El Camaleón Golf Course on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo: Montana Pritchard/LIV Golf)

LIV’s various broadcast partners around the world will offer coverage, but in the United States those interested will need to stream on LIV Golf Plus or the LIV Golf YouTube channel. Friday and Saturday’s action will take place 4-8 a.m. ET, with the final round on Sunday going from 4:30-9:00 a.m. ET.

Prize money

The purse is paid out to all players, even those who got bounced on day one: $5,000 goes to anyone eliminated in round one, $10,000 to those eliminated in round two, and $17,500 minimum for anyone who qualifies for the final round.

The top three players will earn a spot with LIV for 2024, as well as the top prizes of $200,000, $150,000 and $100,000, respectively. Players who finish Nos. 4-10 will receive fully exempt status for all 2024 events on the Asian Tour’s International Series.