Only three LIV pros wanted this change a year ago.

When LIV Golf surveyed its players about switching to 72 holes at the end of 2024, only three guys out of 48 said yes. That bombshell came from Tyrrell Hatton at Abu Dhabi this week, completely contradicting the glowing press release quotes from Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, and Bryson DeChambeau about how “excited” everyone was for the change. Talk about revisionist history.

Hatton, who was one of those three supporters, admitted things have “changed quite a bit in the last year” and said he’s “quite happy” they made the move. But the math doesn’t lie—the overwhelming majority of LIV players wanted to keep their 54-hole tournaments exactly as they were. So much for being a “player’s league.”

McIlroy Calls It “Peculiar”

Rory McIlroy wasn’t buying LIV’s strategy, calling the format change “peculiar” because he believes they could have gotten ranking points with three rounds anyway. The four-time major champion thinks the 54-hole format wasn’t actually what was holding LIV back from OWGR recognition—it was the closed-shop nature of the league and the messy team competition running alongside individual play.

“It certainly puts them more in line with traditional golf tournaments,” McIlroy said. “It brings them back into not really being a destructor and sort of falling more in line with what everyone else does.” Translation: LIV just admitted defeat and copied the PGA Tour’s homework.

The Rankings Problem Nobody’s Talking About

Here’s the kicker—McIlroy pointed out that even if LIV gets OWGR points now, their fields are going to be so weak that the points won’t help much. Players like Jon Rahm have dropped to No. 71 in the world, and Joaquin Niemann sits at No. 122. When you go years without earning points, catching back up isn’t as simple as flipping a switch.

Because the OWGR uses a two-year rolling scale, those ranking drops don’t just magically reverse overnight. LIV might get their precious ranking points, but the damage to their players’ world rankings has already been done.

Why the Sudden Change of Heart?

The contrast between that player survey and Tuesday’s announcement is stark. In the press release, Rahm called it “a win for the league and the players,” while DJ said playing 72 holes “just feels a little more like the big tournaments we’ve all grown up playing.” Funny how opinions shift when your world ranking is in free fall and major championships are slipping away.

The league clearly chose OWGR legitimacy over player preference, banking on the hope that traditional format equals traditional recognition. Whether that gamble pays off remains to be seen, but the players’ initial resistance tells you everything about what they really wanted from LIV in the first place.

What’s Next for LIV?

The format change kicks in for the 2026 season, starting with LIV Riyadh in February. Events will shift to Thursday starts instead of Friday, adopting the standard four-day structure that’s dominated professional golf for decades. The team competition and shotgun starts remain, but make no mistake—this is LIV conforming to traditional golf, not the other way around.

Whether this move finally unlocks OWGR recognition is anyone’s guess. But one thing’s clear: the players didn’t ask for it, and the critics still aren’t convinced it’ll work.