With three events left of the regular LIV Golf season, a whole host of players on the breakaway circuit face the risk of being relegated and were issued a timely reminder by Greg Norman
Greg Norman discussed LIV Golf’s relegation process(LIV Golf)
Greg Norman has called on the players struggling on the LIV Golf circuit to ‘pull their socks up’, as a number of stars face being relegated from the breakaway circuit.
With three events left in the regular season – including this week’s outing at LIV Golf UK – a whole host of players are at risk of being dumped from the Saudi-backed league. In total four players will be relegated via the league’s drop zone, forcing them to play their golf elsewhere in 2025.
As things stand, the four players occupying the relegation spots in the individual standings are Branden Grace, Scott Vincent, Kieran Vincent and Kalle Samooja, the latter two having only earned their spots after promotion from Q-School last winter.
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Of course those just outside of the relegation zone find themselves in danger too, with the likes of Harold Varner III, Pat Perez, Jinichiro Kozuma and Mito Pereira all hovering dangerously at the business end of the season. With not much golf left to play, LIV CEO Norman has warned his playing quota that time is running out.
“We are in the meat and bones of the season,” the former world No. 1 said during the second round of LIV’s broadcast. “Players know there is relegation coming up and things are going to change up very quickly… These guys who are on the edge have got to pull their socks up and get themselves going.”
With the relegation of four players, this opens the window for new names to make the Saudi switch. Since its inception in June 2022, the LIV league have continued to lure in some of golf’s biggest names, and according to Norman there are still players on the outside looking in wanting to make the move.
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Greg Norman is in charge of LIV Golf(Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
“We knew that we had to create this pathway of opportunity for the next generation,” Norman added. “And there are players out there with FOMO [fear of missing out] ight now. They want to get in. So the players who are in, know that there’s that FOMO wanting to get in, and they don’t want to get out.
“I see the intensity on the driving ranges. Each and every day, practice round, first round, even this morning you can see it elevating.” What is more, players who finish outside of the top-24 in the standings are also at risk of losing their spot if their deals with the breakaway league have expired.
It appears that despite being a captain, this fate could fall the way of Bubba Watson, who has struggled for his best form since making the move. The CEO went on: “You look at the players that are in that zone, they know they’re in that zone, the relegation zone Bubba Watson, for example, I watched Bubba on TV all day yesterday. You can see his face going up and down, so you don’t think he’s under pressure. Damn right he’s under pressure.”
Source link : https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/golf/greg-norman-liv-golf-relegation-33340730.amp
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Publish date : 2024-07-27 17:14:00
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