Brooks Koepka walked back to the PGA Tour. The league lost some other big names. The league’s UK arm reported yearly losses of nearly £462 million, and cumulative international losses top about $1.1 billion. TV numbers stay small, too, with the best U.S. final-round audience barely clearing the high-400,000s. Failed to sign rising players like Akshay Bhatia and Ludvig Aberg with massive cash. Still, LIV CEO Scott O’Neil thinks one change will fix everything very soon: Official World Golf Ranking points.

“The intention is to get this done before the season starts,” O’Neil said from LIV media days at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. “We are trying to lean in as quickly as we can and as far as we can while keeping the integrity of the league to make sure that we’re doing everything possible to do that decision easy and quick.”

The league first asked for ranking points in October 2023. The OWGR board said no because of the weird format and the short games. Greg Norman, the then CEO, fought with the golf world for many years. After the leadership change in 2025, O’Neil refiled the request and began talks with OWGR chair Trevor Immelman. The league moved quickly to remove technical objections and show it can operate like other pro tours.

To win over the board, the league gave up its favorite number (54) forever and will feature seventy-two holes for the 2026 season and next. They added roster mechanics called Lock Zones and Drop Zones to create real meritocracy. They also bumped purses and reallocated prize money.

But getting a ‘yes’ vote is still a very tricky and complex game. The OWGR board includes representatives tied to the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and the four majors. Those groups have mixed incentives about handing LIV points. That’s why O’Neil admits he cannot vote on the outcome, and OWGR chairman Trevor Immelman has the toughest job in the world.

“That’s[Getting the OWGR point] the intention. But hey, I don’t have a vote, ironically enough. So hopefully that news comes through,” O’Neil said. “I’ve been a CEO for a long time, and I’ve had different boards, and they all come with their own complexities. His[Immelman’s] is made up of the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and the four majors. And there’s some people on that board that don’t have a lot to gain by us getting world ranking points.”

Despite that, moving to 72 holes has another solid upside for the players, as it helps them get better prepared for the majors. Leading LIV players such as Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson have publicly embraced the change.

“We want to make sure that our players are best prepared for the majors….And with the overwhelming support we have seen in several of our markets, quite frankly, more content is better,” O’Neil said.

Now, if OWGR checks the boxes, majors and sponsors may follow. Trevor Immelman’s board’s latest signal showed progress but no final answer. Immelman told the board has been working hard and that dialogue with LIV has been “constant and in a great spirit.” Still, he warned there is “no decision yet.”

While the ranking battle rages, a separate crisis has emerged on the European tour, threatening Ryder Cup eligibility of LIV players.

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DP World Tour fines and a new crisis

For the first few years, LIV Golf operated with a policy of paying the fines levied against its players by the DP World Tour for participating in conflicting events. This subsidy allowed players like Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton to maintain their DP World Tour memberships—and thus their Ryder Cup eligibility—without personal financial cost.

However, entering the 2026 season, LIV has instituted a policy change: the league will no longer pay these fines. The impact of this policy falls most heavily on Jon Rahm. The Spaniard has accumulated approximately $3 million in fines for playing in LIV events while retaining his DP World Tour card. 

Rahm and Hatton have appealed the sanctions, a legal way that allows them to continue playing on the DP World Tour pending a verdict. However, with LIV withdrawing its financial backstop, the risk has shifted entirely to the players. If the appeal fails, Rahm faces a choice: pay millions from his own pocket to a tour he largely left, or refuse to pay and forfeit his eligibility for the Ryder Cup.

LIV’s decision to stop paying fines also signals a budget reality. The league’s leadership must curb cash outflows while buying legitimacy. O’Neil now juggles two desperate tasks: secure OWGR points to unlock sponsorship value and curb direct subsidies that drain capital. The 2026 season will likely be the most important year for LIV Golf. Scott O’Neil is gambling everything to get LIV Golf back on track.