The LIV Golf League are set to introduce promotion and relegation and that spells big danger for Graeme McDowell.
There are 48 players on the LIV roster with players playing for points at each event. Per the new rules, the bottom four players at the end of year standings will be relegated and leave the league as free agents.
Adding a further layer of intrigue is the decision to create an 'open zone' which consists of the players that finish between 25th and 44th at the end of the year. These players will enter the 'open zone,' meaning they will have to find a new team for the following season or they will be cut.
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The 14 LIV team captains are exempt from relegation. These golfers are Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Joaquin Niemann, Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith and Bubba Watson.
With just 13 points to his name, McDowell sits in 39th place on the leaderboard and is in serious danger of being cut from the league.
The 2011 US Open Champion was one of the original players to join LIV when the tour was founded in 2022, and courted controversy with some of his comments during the LIV v PGA Tour war of words.
The move has seen McDowell slump to No.373 in the world rankings.
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