The struggle with the OWGR qualification was a factor that affected LIV golfers’ participation in the majors. However, earlier this year, the R&A announced a new exemption for players leading the LIV Golf standings who can qualify for the event. The news came out in February, and Joaquin Niemann joined the roster of the Open Championship. But now, with five months to the news, there is more opportunity added for the golfers.

Recently, the Augusta National Golf Club and the R&A have jointly shared their plans to extend qualification criteria for inviting international players in both majors. Sharing that, Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, said, “The Masters Tournament has long recognised the significance of having international representation among its invitees.” Even further, he shared, “We, along with The R&A, have a shared commitment to the global game and are proud to work together. Today’s announcement strengthens our organisation’s collective vision of rewarding top talent around the world who rise to the top of historic national open championships. We hope this formal recognition shines a bright light on these players and the events they will represent at the Masters and The Open, beginning next year.”

As per the update shared on X by the official page of the Open, it shared how new pathways can offer opportunities to the winners from a variety of events. The list of event winners to get an exception for a year includes, Scottish Open Champion, the Spanish Open Champion, the Japan Open Champion, the Hong Kong Open Champion (Asian Tour), the Australian Open Champion, and the South African Open Champion. The new exemption that brings in new opportunities for the LIV golfers brings a loss for the PGA Tour players as well. Despite the new addition, the Masters, having the smallest roster among the majors, will continue to thrive with that. In the same update, it shared that the PGA Tour fall event winners will not receive automatic qualification.

Speaking of the opportunity, Mark Darbon, chief executive of the R&A, said, “This creates an outstanding opportunity for players in all parts of the world to qualify, and we firmly believe this will continue to enrich the quality of the fields in both major championships.” LIV golfers, with their active participation in the Asian Tour, and no restriction to play at the Sunshine Tour, Japan Tour, and the PGA Tour Australasia, will have the opportunity to get into the majors. However, the busy schedule of LIV events and the Asian Tour, the golfers’ appearances at other tours are very limited. But the opportunity might bring exposure to new players from the smaller tours. In the past, Niemann has received the invitations twice, which include his exemption due to the 2024 Australian Open win.

This is great news for the players to find more opportunities, as earlier, the league faced trouble with its DPWT partnership.

LIV Golf took a strong decision against the players’ will

Before the sigh of relief for the LIV golfer, the league also dropped a bomb. Back in July, Telegraph Sport reported that LIV Golf is planning to stop paying DP World Tour fines for the players. The move is focused on restricting the players in the league and helping to limit the expenses. Though the move will take place from the 2026 season, it has already created a buzz among the players. Especially for the European Team players.

According to the rules of the European team at the Ryder Cup, every player must be a member of the DP World Tour. Now, for Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Adrian Meronk, and others, it would become tough to maintain membership if LIV backs out on paying fines. Until now, since the decision of fines by DPWT in 2023, the Saudi-backed league has dished out 15 million euros and has more than 8-10 million euros outstanding in fines.

It will be interesting to see how the players will take this new decision. Well, Rahm’s manager has already shared that “he has no intention of paying any fines.” With skipping fines, the access to Ryder Cup participation will decline.

Now that the policy is coming into action from 2026, is reunification the only option to witness the top names together, or will there be a loss for the fans? What do you think about it? Share with us in the comments below.