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Not only will LIV Golf feature new players, venues and TV partner in 2025, but the Saudi-backed league has also tweaked its format.
Of course, the 14-tournament season will remain contested over 54 holes and the team aspect is going nowhere. However, the latter will look different.
For the first time, all four scores will count in each round for every team. In 2024, all four scores were only counted in the final round, with just the top three scores per team counting for each of the first two rounds.
The league, now headed by Scott O’Neil, reckons that the scoring change will “increase the drama and volatility on the team leaderboard throughout the three tournament days.” And it will put “added pressure” on every player to contribute a low score for their teams.
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LIV’s format has been criticised since the league’s inception in 2022, but that has been particularly aimed at playing 72 holes.
Ahead of The Masters last April, Jon Rahm argued that one way to improve LIV’s own product would be to expand from 54 holes.
“If there ever was a way where LIV could go to 72 holes, I think it would help all of this argument a lot,” Rahm told BBC Sport.
“The closer I think we can get LIV Golf to some other things the better. I think it would be for some kind of unification to feed into a world tour or something like that.”
The Spaniards’ comments came right before Phil Mickelson hinted that LIV would make the change after the first major of the season at Augusta National.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if some or all of LIV events went to 72,” the three-time Masters winner said before adding: “I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. I enjoy the competition.”
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Meanwhile, the new format change ahead of LIV’s first event of 2025 isn’t the first it has trialled.
In September, LIV announced that captains could decide on their match-play lineups at the season-ending Team Championships at Maridoe Golf Club in Dallas.
In the first two years of the Team Championship, captains were required to match up in singles for Friday’s quarterfinals and Saturday’s semifinal match-play rounds.
Ripper GC captain and Open winner Cameron Smith approved the change. “It’s a good move,” he said. “It gives teams an opportunity to kind of play around with maybe stacking a side or doing something like that.
“It’s way better being able to choose who you pick for matches. It creates a bit more drama.”
The 2025 LIV season starts under the lights tomorrow in Riyadh.
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