LIV Golf play-in tournament guarantees places for three players

While clouds remain over the future of LIV Golf, the door has been opened to the millions on offer through a tournament offering three places on the tour.

The millions of dollars on offer at LIV Golf have been opened up to newcomers, with confirmation of a play-in qualification event in December open to a raft of hopefuls, including leaders of the PGA Tour of Australasia order of merit.

Australian Jed Morgan was one of the four players cut from the Saudi-backed tour this year after the 2021 Australian PGA winner finished down the bottom of the individual player rankings but still collected a touch more than $7m from his 21 events.

LIV officials have narrowed the qualification for entry into the play-in tournament, which will be staged from December 8-10, a week after the Australian Open, at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates, with the top three finishers set to be drafted into one of the LIV Golf teams next season.

Jed Morgan has lost his LIV place. Picture: Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images

There’s also a $2.3m prize purse on offer, with more than $300,000 going to the winner, a cheque equivalent to what the Australian Open winner will receive. At each LIV event, with 14 planned for 2024 including Adelaide, winners receive $6.3m from a $31m prize pool.

From his 23 events since joining LIV, Cameron Smith has collected in excess of $35m in prizemoney.

Amid hope of drawing some significant new talent to the tour, the play-in event is also open to entry for winners of PGA Tour and DP World Tour-sanctioned events over the past two years, Ryder Cup and President’s Cup participants from 2019-2023 and any major winners over the past four years.

Just who enters remains to be seen but LIV star Phil Mickelson spruiked at the team championship in Miami last weekend that several big names remained keen to join the tour despite its future being subject to ongoing merger talks between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

“I know that’s going to happen,” Mickelson said.

“When players look at LIV, they are wanting to be a part of it.”

The top three in the PGA Tour of Australia Order of Merit, and therefore eligible for the play-in event, are Lachlan Barker, Austin Bautista and Ben Eccles.

LIV boss Greg Norman has ‘zero’ concerns about the tour’s future. Picture: Quinn Harris / Getty Images North America / Getty Images via AFP

The play-in event is also open to the winner and runner-up of the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship, which is being played at Royal Melbourne this week.

LIV chief executive Greg Norman, who said last week he had “zero” concerns about the tour’s future, said the plan to promote new players was part of their goal to help golfers “advance their careers at golf’s highest levels”.

“LIV Golf Promotions establishes an integrated pathway for the best players and up-and-coming talent from all over the globe to join a league that is changing the game,” he said.

“Open competition and meritocracy have always been a part of the fabric of LIV Golf, and following the success of our first full, 14-event season, we’re excited to be able to launch LIV Golf Promotions and offer players from around the world the chance to qualify for 2024.”