Greg Norman introduced relegation in LIV Golf to make it more competitive. Every year, golfers ranked below 49th position face relegation. As spots opened for new members, LIV’s roster was set to change slightly for the 2026 season. And recently, one new member’s signing has come to light.

French golfer Victor Perez joined Martin Kaymer’s Cleek Golf Club. This made him the first Frenchman to join the Saudi-backed league. As it has always been, there was a mixed response to Perez’s move.

Perez has finally opened up about why he made the switch. And he has the PGA Tour to blame for that.

“Probably one of the points that I’ve struggled the most in America the last two years has been this kind of movement of the goalposts,” he told Josh Lees of bunkered.co.uk.

“Year after year, the rule changes that basically makes the playing field really challenging to read.”

The PGA Tour card eligibility rules have kept changing regularly for the past few years.

Recently, the tour decided that only the top 100 golfers on the FedEx Cup Fall standings will get a full exemption. Those finishing from 101 to 125 will get partial status. This had confused many golfers, not just Victor Perez.

“There’s been times early in the year where I thought I had qualified for one, but then actually I didn’t qualify and then ended up qualifying for some. Trying to keep up with other things they were trying to do made it a bit more difficult,” Perez exclaimed.

“I had a really long conversation well before this with Brian Rolapp, asking how the tour was going about and what his vision of it was. It seems like things were going to keep moving and changing.”

Ever since Brian Rolapp joined the PGA Tour as CEO, things have been moving swiftly.

For instance, the cancellation of The Sentry 2026 led to rumors of more schedule changes on the PGA Tour. The aim will be to get out of the way of the NFL. When asked about the same, Rolapp said that it is not completely off the table.

He has handed the job to the Future Competition Committee, chaired by Tiger Woods, to determine if it will be a good move.

Victor Perez reflected on the same to support his decision to switch to LIV Golf instead of sticking with the PGA Tour. Perez was looking for stability and felt he could find this by venturing over to the LIV setup.

“I felt like I was at a point in my career where I was looking for a bit more stability, which is something that I really hadn’t had, and LIV seems to be doing this.”

Perez is a 33-year-old Frenchman with three DP World Tour wins. He won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the 2022 Dutch Open, and the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

He held dual membership on the PGA and DP World Tours but was struggling on the PGA Tour this year. Of the 25 starts he had on the PGA Tour, he missed the cut in 8. And from the 17 cuts he made, he reached the top 10 only once at the RBC Canadian Open, where he finished T9.

He was sitting 108th in the FedEx Cup standings and in danger of losing his full exempt tour card. While partial status golfers still get many starts on the PGA Tour schedule, it can be confusing and frightening. Justin Lower’s breakdown at the RSM Classic is a clear example of that.

Since Victor Perez was looking for something steadier, he withdrew from the RSM Classic shortly before confirming his move to LIV Golf.

Top Stories

Tiger Woods Accepts New Job That Could Change PGA Tour Forever

Complaints Pour In After Potential PGA Tour Changes Surface Weeks Before 2026 Season

Jeeno Thitikul Issues Emotional Plea as Country Faces Severe Calamity: ‘Please Help’

Paige Spiranac Nearly Took Legal Action After ‘Death Threats’ Over Internet Invitational Scandal

Lexi Thompson Admits Injuries Are Still Holding Her Back in Emotional Message

Victor Perez’s LIV Golf team

Victor Perez joined LIV’s Cleeks GC for the 2026 season. The team is led by Martin Kaymer and consists of England’s Richard Bland and Poland’s Adrian Meronk, other than Kaymer and Perez. Cleeks’ Frederik Kjettrup was relegated after his poor 2025 season. Thus, Kaymer was looking for a replacement to join his team. However, he was not trying to get someone influenced by LIV’s big contracts.

“People are just thinking about the rumours of millions of dollars left, right and centre. We are not that kind of team. Of course, you get paid well if you play well, but not just because you put a signature on a contract,” Kaymer told bunkered.co.uk in October. Instead, he wanted to onboard someone who can improve his team’s performance, and Perez seems a good fit for that.

Perez’s decision reflects a desire for a steadier footing at a point in his career where clarity matters more. His arrival at Cleeks GC signals a fresh start and a chance to rebuild his momentum in an environment he believes better aligns with his goals.