LIV Golf makes transfer window announcement that could impact out-of-contract stars
LIV Golf has revealed that the league’s first mid-season transfer window will open on Monday (May 6) following the conclusion of LIV Golf Singapore.
The month-long window of activity allows teams to complete trades across the league and also offers opportunities to the out-of-contract golfers that finished in last season’s “open zone”. The plans were initially announced last year but no exact dates were decided and the first transfer window will officially get underway next week.
“Throughout the offseason, teams may trade players from their current rosters, providing the trade is approved by both teams,” LIV Golf wrote in a 2023 statement announcing the policy change.
“To support opportunities for teams to strengthen their rosters once the season has begun, a mid-season trading window will take place in 2024 where teams and players will be free to negotiate trades as well as extensions to their existing contracts if a player is in the last year of his contract.”
The Saudi-backed golf league immediately lured a number of the sport’s most prominent players for its inaugural season in June 2022, and following its first full campaign the next year LIV Golf instituted a number of wide-sweeping reforms designed to maintain a supply of “elite players.” The most high-profile move of the LIV Golf offseason was Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka offloading Matthew Wolff after a public rift between the two.
““I mean, when you quit on your round, you give up and stuff like that, that’s not competing,” Koepka said about Wolff. “I’m not a big fan of that. You don’t work hard. It’s very tough. It’s very tough to have even like a team dynamic when you’ve got one guy that won’t work, one guy is not going to give any effort, he’s going to quit on the course, break clubs, gets down, bad body language, it’s very tough. I’ve basically given up on him – a lot of talent, but I mean the talent’s wasted.”
LIV Golf is currently taking place in Singapore and the window will open when the tournament is complete
LIV Golf features a “lock zone,” where the top 24 players are given the option to extend their contracts and existing teams are given primary negotiation rights. For players that finished 24-45 there exists “open zone,” where their contracts expire at the end of the year and they must negotiate with teams as unrestricted free agents.
The new transfer window may present an opportunity for these “open” players to find a roster spot, giving them a lifeline to stay on the circuit. The transfer window will slam shut before the season’s eighth event in Houston on June 6, and the unprecedented period could bring transformative changes to the young seasons.
Hypothetical trade proposals have begun to circulate online, and the possibility of potentially adding an extra team in the mid-season window appears feasible as well. Currently, Koepka’s off-season move has been paying off, with his Smash GC squad leading by a stroke and the American golfer atop the individual leaderboard with a bit of breathing room. Conversely, a stunning performance from RangeGoats captain Bubba Watson has the iconic golfer wallowing in joint-last with an six over par aggregate score.