Tiering LIV Golf’s 2026 Offseason Player Acquisitions

On Tuesday, HyFlyers GC announced the signing of Michael La Sasso, the reigning men’s NCAA Div. I individual national champion. With La Sasso’s signing, LIV Golf’s offseason appears complete as Harold Varner III has joined Smash GC. It’s an opportune time to take stock of the league’s offseason additions and the broader state of its talent pool.

LIV has faced plenty of criticism for an underwhelming offseason, at least from a talent-acquisition perspective. In past years, rumors swirled about high-profile players weighing a move to the league, with a few ultimately signing on. This time around, LIV didn’t land household names. Instead, the biggest story of the offseason was five-time major winner Brooks Koepka departing the league early without fulfilling the full length of his contract because he was so desperate to shed his Smash GC uniform and return to the PGA Tour.  

However, despite an offseason that did little to inspire confidence in the league’s trajectory, LIV has assembled a stout pool of young talent over the past few years. Twenty-four-year-old David Puig won the Australian PGA back in November and is undoubtedly one of the best players under 25 in the world. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Puig ascend and become a top-20 player in the world over the next 12 months. Tom McKibbin, 23, found the winner’s circle at the Hong Kong Open in November and continues to develop nicely. Meanwhile, 2024 U.S. Amateur champion Josele Ballester, 22, has begun finding his footing, rattling off three straight top 10s between the Asian Tour and DP World Tour to close out 2025. Caleb Surratt, 21, has a short résumé since he left Tennessee early to turn pro and join LIV, but he’s trended upwards over the last six or seven months. And he is still very young. I won’t write off Luis Masaveu, 23, either; we’ll see how he progresses. 

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With the additions of Elvis Smylie, 23, and La Sasso, 21, LIV’s stable of under-25 players is nothing to scoff at. They’ve invested in a strong collection of young players, a couple of whom could turn into elite players. 

At the top end of the LIV roster, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Reed, and even Carlos Ortiz are all capable of contending in golf’s strongest fields. Those six players registered nine top-10 finishes in 22 major championship starts in 2025. Nobody else on LIV recorded a top-10 finish. 

In its current state, LIV has five to eight high-caliber players and another bucket of young, promising talents. Then it drops off severely. Finishing T-12 on LIV isn’t particularly impressive, but winning does require outperforming a few genuinely great players. 

Notable LIV Offseason Quotes

The LIV offseason may not have produced high-profile signings, but I did find a few quotes from LIV players and CEO Scott O’Neil interesting. 

On LIV’s status as the top ex-U.S. product

“LIV is clearly at the top of the pyramid of golf outside the U.S. We are the world's golf league.” –Scott O’Neil

Shots fired at the DP World Tour! 

On LIV’s relationship with the DP World Tour

“The DP World Tour, we've had some friction with them a bit, and it's been a bit costly financially for us…” –Scott O’Neil

“Friction” is an interesting word choice in reference to the fines players must pay to play on the DP World Tour.

On LIV’s national open strategy

“What you'll see over the next several years is the remaking and reshaping of the International Series and working with the incredible relationships – some of the gifted and talented people at the golf federations around the world – into a national open strategy…You'll likely see four or five or six coming in this year, but if you fast forward out two, three years, you'll have 10 to 12 of the biggest national opens will become the International Series.” –Scott O’Neil

On the PGA Tour being the most competitive Tour in the world

“I always enjoyed my time out there on the PGA Tour. I mean, let’s be honest, it’s the best tour in the world. Look at what they’ve done in golf. You know, I could see myself playing there at some point again.” –Patrick Reed

Reed is correct, of course, but I was a bit surprised to see him acknowledge the PGA Tour’s standing atop the global golf tours. I suspect most of the top LIV guys, like Jon Rahm, would agree with that assessment.  

On upcoming changes

“Things have got to change. Things have got to improve.” –Bryson DeChambeau

Interesting to see DeChambeau getting (somewhat) vocal about the progress LIV needs to make. Then again, his commentary aligns with a contract renegotiation. 

That’s all for this week! Have feedback? Topics you’d like to see explored? Email me: joseph@thefriedegg.com.