Louis Oosthuizen has become the latest high-profile name to walk away from LIV Golf, calling it “the hardest decision he has had to make in his career.” The 2010 Open Championship winner joins a growing exodus from the breakaway league.
Louis Oosthuizen (Credits: BBC Sport)
Oosthuizen, 44, joined LIV Golf in 2022 and captained the Southern Guards GC team. Announcing his departure on social media, the South African wrote: “Five years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life, moving away from the traditional golf world and into something very special with LIV Golf and Southern Guards GC. I’m the biggest supporter of team golf and always will be.”
Now, he plans to return to the DP World Tour in 2027, chasing a more flexible schedule that he controls. “I realised I have a lot more in me, and my biggest fear was that the schedule on LIV 2.0 would be tough to manage,” the former world number four explained. “I feel I have a few more years of good, competitive golf left in me, and the only way to be really sharp and competitive is through a schedule I control.”
The Exodus Accelerates
Oosthuizen’s exit comes amid an existential crisis for the league. LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in September after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew its multibillion-dollar backing. It has since secured a possible $300 million (£224.2m) in financing from BC Partners Credit to try to push ahead with the 2027 season.
He follows Thomas Pieters, Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, David Puig, and Adrian Meronk out the door. Last week, two-time major winner Jon Rahm gave up a reported £75 million owed to him by LIV Golf in a separation agreement. Some ex-LIV players, including Brooks Koepka, have since rejoined the PGA Tour, which rewrote its rules in December to allow his return subject to sanctions.
DP World Tour Draws a Hard Line
DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings told BBC Sport earlier this month that players who continue with LIV will not be allowed to be members of the European tour next season. For Oosthuizen — who has finished runner-up at least once in each of the other three majors alongside his 2010 Open triumph — the path back to traditional golf is now open.
Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
