The 5 LIV Golf players now out of contract 

A handful of LIV Golf players face precarious futures after details emerged about the sport’s first ever transfer window.

The brand-new player movement program ahead of LIV’s third season will include transfers of free agents, team trades and a player draft.

The top 24 players in LIV’s 2023 Individual Standings were guaranteed a spot in next year’s roster, but five players who finished between 25th and 44th (the Open Zone) are now out of contract and now need to be snapped up.

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If the players aren’t picked up by one of the 12 teams, the only chance to remain on the lucrative circuit could be in the LIV Golf Promotions event in Abu Dhabi next month, where three spots are up for grabs.

Here are the five out-of-contract players hoping to make the LIV roster for the 2024 campaign…

Pat Perez

Perez has been one of the most vocal supporters of LIV’s emergence into golf, and no wonder.

The American has earned over $15million in prize money since becoming one of the first names to sign for the enterprise, notably claiming a $4m bonus when his 4Aces team led by Dustin Johnson won the inaugural Team Championship in 2022.

This year, however, three top-ten finishes have not been enough for the 47-year-old to stay inside the Lock Zone, meaning his future is in doubt.

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Graeme McDowell

“I feel like I’ve been a good spokesman for the league and a good ambassador for the tour and hopefully there is a captain who wants me on his team,” McDowell told Sports Illustrated in September.

Now, with his fate sealed, the former US Open champ and Ryder Cup star is relying on a show of good faith. McDowell did not register a single top-ten finish in 2023 on the Cleeks GC team and ended up finishing 42nd in the standings, just shy of the relegation zone.

Bernd Wiesberger

Wiesberger has been a shadow of the player that saw him become an eight-time DP World Tour winner and European Ryder Cup player in 2021. The Austrian has struggled to perform on the LIV circuit, finishing just one place ahead of his Cleeks teammate McDowell in the 2023 individual standings.

Wiesberger’s sole top-ten finish, 8th at the Jeddah event, may not be compelling enough evidence for a captain to select him for 2024.

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David Puig

Puig has big ambitions in the game, speaking earlier this year about his ambitions to follow in the footsteps of his legendary Spanish compatriots by making a name for himself in the Ryder Cup.

The 21-year-old, who played college golf in Arizona, clearly has huge talent, but he has not made his mark on the LIV circuit and is in that corridor of uncertainty in 31st in the standings. After mustering two top-tens in 2023, the Spaniard will have to be signed up as a free agent for his third LIV season.

Matt Jones

Jones makes up the Australian quartet on Cameron Smith’s Ripper GC team, but the veteran is now fighting for a new contract to prolong his stay on the LIV circuit.

The 43-year-old, who won twice on the PGA Tour before joining LIV last year, finished 37th in the standings and his 42nd place finish at his home event in Adelaide summed up a frustrating year.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.