LIV Golf Announces Rule Change to 72-Hole Format Beginning with 2026 Season

LIV Golf is expanding to a four-day, 72-hole tournament format ahead of the 2026 season, the organization announced Tuesday.

The league has spent four seasons featuring three-day, 54-hole tournaments represented by the Roman numeral in the league's name.

The newly-expanded tournaments will still feature shotgun starts, according to LIV Golf.

LIV Golf was launched in 2022 with financing from the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. The league will kick off its fifth season on Feb. 4, 2026 in Riyadh.

CEO Scott O'Neil said in a statement the addition of another round to tournaments will benefit "fans, players, marketing partners, and our global media partners."

"The most successful leagues around the world - IPL, EPL, NBA, MLB, NFL - continue to innovate and evolve their product, and as an emerging league, we are no different," O'Neil said. "LIV Golf will always have an eye towards progress that acts in the best interest of LIV Golf and in the best interest of the sport."

Bryson DeChambeau said in a statement the expansion was "a proactive step to align with the historic format recognized globally."

The league announced a multiyear deal with Fox Sports in January. The press release cited "90 percent year-over-year growth" since the announcement of that partnership.

The growth of LIV Golf has been limited, however, by its players' inability to gain the world ranking points they need to compete for major championships. The league is still working to be recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking, which rejected its previous application in 2023.

LIV Golf said at the time the OWGR's rejection left the sport of golf "without a true or global scoring and ranking system."

The OWGR declined to rank LIV Golf players in part because the league featured the same 48 competitors throughout the entire season, ESPN reported. Most ranked tours feature at least 20 percent in-season turnover, per ESPN.

LIV Golf applied again for OWGR inclusion in July after expanding the field to 54 players. The league may be hoping matching other tours with a 72-hole format will help strengthen its campaign for world ranking points by 2026.