By Rahul Banerji
The Asian Tour will have just one slot guaranteed from 2024 if LIV Golf’s plans are anything to go by, an exclusive report has said.
When the Greg Norman-fronted league launched its Invitational Series, the top four finishers (minus those opting out) from the Asian Tour’s International Series were to be included in the field.
India’s Viraj Madappa qualified on the basis of his top six finish at the Asian Tour’s Newcastle International performance and duly played the first of the Invitational Series at the Centurion Club.
Since then, LIV Golf has attracted growing interest and a rotating system has been used to induct new faces for subsequent Invitational Series events, the next of which is in New Jersey later this week.
And in an exclusive report, Sports Illustrated said a points system will be used from 2023 with the bottom four players relegated from the field of 48 and new players added through a qualifying tournament.
LIV’s ‘Q School‘
This means, SI reported, the third LIV Golf season will see an effective Qualifying School put in place to maintain the roster of 48 divided between 12 teams.
It also means that only the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit (money list) topper is guaranteed a place in the 2024 season.
Fourteen events will be played in the 2023 Invitational Series with the 12 teams unchanged. Players finishing in the top 24 at each event will earn points aimed at retaining their LIV series status.
The bottom four on the rankings list will then drop into the “Promotions Event” and join a field of up to hundred-odd players seeking promotion into the $25 million Invitational Series.
This number will include those placed between second and 32nd on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, the Sports Illustrated report said.
“Team captains may be exempt from relegation along with other select players, depending on their contracts and agreements with LIV Golf,” SI said.
“If a captain is in fact relegated, he would still be involved with the management of the team going forward.”
The idea, SI reported quoting LIV Golf sources, was to see “that the player pool in the Invitational events is refreshed each year, and that there is a clear, open and fair pathway for any player in the world to earn their place in these events.
Some exemptions
“All relegated players have the ability to re-qualify for LIV Golf Invitationals through LIV’s “Promotions” and are exempt for that immediately following the season they have been relegated and for the next two seasons.
“Relegated players will also be eligible to compete in the LIV Golf International Series (currently sanctioned by the Asian Tour, and to be co-sanctioned by LIV Golf and the Asian Tour in 2023) as well as any other tours where they have status, the report added.”
“Because player contracts vary and are not disclosed, individual players’ exemption status may supersede finishing outside the top 24.
“In other words, high-profile players such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are likely secure in their status for the foreseeable future,” SI noted.
The field for the two-stage Promotions event format played over four days with a possible 36-hole finale is as follows:
Players exempt
- Nos 2-32 on the money list from the International Series which is part of the Asian Tour
- Major winners from the past five years
- Reigning amateur champions (US Amateur, British Amateur, Latin American Amateur, Asia-Pacific Amateur, NCAA champion)
- Top 45 in the Official World Golf Ranking
- PGA Tour and DP World Tour winners from the past year
- Any relegated players from LIV Golf in the last two years
- Members of the last Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup teams.
This shift in format will also spell an end to the Invitational Series that will be in use until the end of the 2023 season.
Thereafter, SI reported, the field of 48 players will remain unchanged for the season between the 12 teams.
As it stands, the Asian Tour stands to lose out on at least three spots in the LIV Golf series field with the Promotional event now open to past major winners, besides Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup team members.
Added pressure
Add to this list PGA Tour and DP World (European) Tour winners, and it underlines the degree of difficulty Asian Tour players will confront.
Further details for the qualifying tournament will be known before the end of the current LIV season at the Doral course in Florida between October 27 and 30.
As per the Sports Illustrated report, the first 18 holes at the Promotions event “will include nos. 6-32 from the International Series money list, contracted team-substitute players and all category exempt players.
“The top 20 from the first-round competition will be joined in the second round by relegated players from the previous seasons of LIV Golf, nos. 2-5 from the International Series and any player between 25 to 44 on the points list not re-contracted by a team for the following season.
“The top 16 from Round 2 will play in the last two rounds with the top three finishers qualifying for the 2024 LIV season.”
Also read: Viraj Madappa to line up for LIV Invitational’s London event
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.