LIV

LIV Golf events will be extended to 72 holes from 2026, putting them in line with the sport’s established tours.

The Saudi Arabia-backed circuit began in 2022 with 54-hole events and the unconventional format of events played a role in players being denied official ranking points.

Most LIV events have been played from Friday to Sunday but will now be contested from Thursday of tournament weeks – apart from a Wednesday start for February’s LIV Golf Riyadh.

Two-time major winner Jon Rahm, who won his second straight LIV title in August, said that “this is a win for the league, and the players”.

“LIV Golf is a player’s league,” said the former world number one. “We are competitors to the core and we want every opportunity to compete at the highest level and to perfect our craft.

“Moving to 72 holes is the logical next step that strengthens the competition, tests us more fully, and, if the growing galleries from last season are any indication, delivers more of what the fans want.”

Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points play a key role in determining entry into golf’s four majors.

LIV Golf players have slid down the rankings with Rahm now 71st in the world while Dustin Johnson, another former world number one, is 604th.

“Playing 72 holes just feels a little more like the big tournaments we’ve all grown up playing,” said Johnson. “I’ve always liked the grind of four rounds.”

Bryson DeChambeau, who is also on the LIV tour, added: “Everyone wants to see the best players in the world competing against each other, especially in the majors, and for the good of the game, we need a path forward.”

For each regular season event, the individual competition will be decided over 72 holes of stroke play.

The team competition will continue to run concurrently, with each team’s cumulative individual stroke play scores determining the team result.

“The move to 72 holes marks a pivotal new chapter for LIV Golf that strengthens our league, challenges our elite field of players, and delivers more of the world-class golf, energy, innovation and access that our global audience wants,” said LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil.

“The most successful leagues around the world – IPL, EPL, NBA, MLB, NFL – continue to innovate and evolve their product, and as an emerging league, we are no different.”

Dodgers fans Aiden Mashaka and his dad, Akida Mashaka.

(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

How long have you been a Dodgers fan?

Akida: What are you talking about? Kirk Gibson! I’m Tommy Lasorda, baby!

How much did you pay for your ticket?

Akida: $900. We bought our tickets from a third party. I’ve been asking my brother-in-law how much I owe him, but he’s such an amazing human being. He’s like “Don’t worry. I got this!”

Was it worth it?

Akida: Of course it’s worth it. We’re seeing the Dodgers World Series. The flight costs more than $900. If you have it, it’s worth it. If you don’t have it, it’s not worth it — you can watch it on TV. If I was still in school, I would be watching on TV. But I am a 53-year-old man, after many years of life, so I can spend $900 to watch the Dodgers.

Aiden: This is maybe my second or third game that I’ve been to for the Dodgers. Being at the World Series, like the grand finale, I feel like it’s a great time to be here. I’m really proud of my dad, my auntie and my uncle for bringing me here. I want to thank them.

Akida: Can we get a crying emoji?

Liv Tchine’s first impression was “wow”.

Her second was “can I stay here forever?”.

Her third was “one day this will be all ours”.

Netball’s kingdom is modest, but prolific England goal shooter Tchine and her team-mates recently had a glimpse of a top-tier sporting promised land.

These are the Roses players targeting Commonwealth Games gold at Glasgow 2026 and World Cup glory in 2027.

They are at the vanguard of the sport’s professional era, the elite of the three million people who play netball in England at least once a year. Most players are women, but men play too.

Tchine and co draw inspiration from the Euros-winning Lionesses and World Cup-winning Red Roses, rather than lament encroachment on netball’s legacy territory.

Netball Super League is newly professional but funds are tight, similar to football’s Women’s Super League in the mid-2010s.

Players hear of rewards that could be theirs one day. Often those rewards feel a million miles away, yet not always.

For Tchine, a standout in the London Pulse side who swept to their first Super League title this year, the “wow” moment came at the Lionesses’ luxury hangout.

St George’s Park lies in Derbyshire countryside, tucked out of sight. An understated private drive off a hedge-lined B road is a portal to a world beyond the dreams of most sportspeople.

“Just imagine netball having this kind of facility. Do you know how sick that would be?”

That was Tchine on an Instagram video diary, reacting to visiting the Football Association’s state-of-the-art national team training centre for the first time. The gym, the recovery rooms, the green, green grass of England’s home.

England’s netballers spent a training block there, before autumn series against Jamaica and New Zealand.

“I was like, if we could just stay here forever, I would happily move,” Tchine tells BBC Sport.

“So, so good. We were there for 10 days. The facilities were, honestly, so amazing.

“The whole time we were there I was just like, one day netball could definitely have something like this.”

The second season since Super League’s relaunch is coming, with 2026 fixtures announced this week., external

Pulse are in “the best position we’ve ever been in”, Tchine says.

The league is growing. Average attendances climbed by 42% in 2025, having been about 1,500 previously. In comparison, the first Women’s Super League football season – following a 2014 reboot – had average crowds of 728 (from 562 in 2013).

Women’s football crowds in the tens of thousands are now almost commonplace, but that didn’t happen overnight.

Tchine, a 24-year-old south Londoner, admired portraits of England footballers – men and women – lining St George’s Park’s corridors.

“I definitely hope that if I’m still playing in 10 years we’ll be at the same level as the Lionesses and the Red Roses,” she says.

“They were both absolutely incredible this summer – going out there, doing their job and coming out with wins was amazing. It’s really good to see women’s sport hitting levels that it’s never been at in the past.

“I want to be able to go out with the Roses and use that momentum to try and get our gold medal.”

Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin says he has “no regrets” over joining LIV Golf.

McKibbin made the switch to Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII LIV team despite securing his PGA Tour card in November.

Alongside Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Caleb Surratt, the 22-year-old helped Legion XII win the teams’ title and had a best individual finish of joint-fourth place.

“I’m very glad, I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I’ve learnt a lot and I feel like my game has improved a lot,” McKibbin told BBC Sport NI ahead of the Irish Open at the K Club.

“I’ve no regrets. I love being there, and being able to come and play some events over here is really good as well.”

After signing up to the lucrative LIV Golf, McKibbin says he is “fortunate” to be a multi-millionaire at only 22 years of age.

However, while he says the financial aspect of the Saudi-backed golf league is a plus, his motivation when he steps out on the tee is to try and win.

“With how golf is now, there is a lot of money around it. To be part of it and be able to benefit from it is good, but I want to let my golf do the talking and that’s more important,” he said.

“I want to win more. It is life-changing and to be fortunate enough to have that is nice, but hopefully I can get a few more wins.”

McKibbin is eligible to play at the Irish Open as the conflict between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has yet to be resolved.

That meant he has been able to retain his DP World Tour membership while playing under the LIV banner.

The Holywood golfer says he hopes there is a resolution so he can continue to play at the Irish Open and other tournaments in the coming years.

“I think everyone just wants it to work out and play together,” said McKibbin.

“We’re all hopeful it can happen, so hopefully this isn’t my last one [Irish Open] for a while.

“I’ve still got membership and status here, and I’d love to play whenever I can. It’s good to come back to events like this.

“There’s some big tournaments and national Opens to play. I want to try and win those, so there’s definitely something important for me still here.”

Patrick Reed beat three opponents in a play-off to claim his first win on the LIV Tour at the Dallas event.

The 34-year-old American had finished on six under alongside England’s Paul Casey, South African Louis Oosthuizen and Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma.

Reed, who switched to LIV from the PGA Tour three years ago, holed a testing putt for a birdie on the first play-off hole to seal victory.

He held a three-shot lead going into Sunday but was three over for his final round of 75.

England’s Tyrrell Hatton briefly held the lead on the back nine but a double bogey on the 12th hole scuppered his chances and he finished in a group one behind on five under.

Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka withdrew from the event on Friday after hitting a tee box marker into the crowd.

He smashed his club into the ground then struck the marker on the left of the tee towards a small group of fans after a poor tee shot on the ninth hole.

Koepka pulled out, citing illness, after a bogey on that hole put him on seven over.

He was replaced by Mexican reserve Luis Carrera for the remainder of the round, with their combined score counting towards their team Smash GC’s score.

LIV said Koepka can return for the second and third rounds but his score would contribute only to his team’s.

Players compete individually and for teams at LIV events.

They tee off at the same time on different holes, known as a shotgun start.

Koepka, who has won five times on the LIV tour, missed the cut at the Masters in April and the US PGA Championship in May, and finished tied for 12th at this month’s US Open.

Speaking about his form after the first round of the US Open, he said: “I would say from the first weekend in April until about last week, you didn’t want to be around me.

“It drove me nuts. It ate at me. I haven’t been happy. It’s been very irritating.”

The former world number one won the most recent of his majors in 2023 at the US PGA.