While picking through the leftover Halloween candy and waiting to push the start button on pulling out the Christmas decorations, there is still golf happening. A few matters that are front of mind:
• Is LIV Golf getting closer to securing world ranking points?
That appears to be the subtext to the tour’s dual announcements this week that it will play 72 holes next year rather than 54 holes and it is doubling the number of qualifying spots via both its International Series rankings and through its LIV Golf Promotions event played in January.
The move to 72 holes from 54 holes addresses one of the concerns put forward by the Official World Golf Ranking when it initially denied the group’s request to be included in the ranking.
“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,” Jon Rahm said in a statement announcing the change.
The International Series is a group of Asian Tour events and the two top players in the season-long points race not otherwise qualified will earn spots on LIV Golf for the 2026 season, an increase of one spot from previous years.
Currently, Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent and the Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena hold the top two spots with two events remaining. While both are quality players, neither has the star quality that seems necessary for LIV Golf to draw more eyeballs.
Likewise, the promotions event is going from offering one to two spots on LIV Golf with the top 10 finishers being fully exempt into International Series events next year.
When the Official World Golf Ranking previously decided against awarding ranking points to LIV Golf, the organization cited the lack of relegation and promotion within the tour’s structure, specifically pointing to a number of players being contractually bound to play the tour regardless of their performance.
This appears to be a small step toward remedying the situation but LIV will likely need to make more changes to finally be included in the world ranking.
In July, OWGR chairman Trevor Immelman announced that LIV Golf had reapplied for world ranking points but offered no timetable for when a decision might be finalized.
• When the Masters announced earlier this year that it would extend invitations to the champions of a handful of national opens while eliminating the invitations to winners of the fall events on the PGA Tour, it was both a recognition of the game’s global resonance and an acknowledgement that what happens on the PGA Tour after the FedEx Cup playoffs isn’t as impactful as what happens before.
That means Steven Fisk didn’t qualify for the Masters by winning the Sanderson Farms Championship while Tom McKibbin, who opted to join LIV Golf earlier this year, is now locked in at the Masters and the Open Championship by virtue of his victory Sunday in the Asian Tour’s Link Hong Kong Open.
The Hong Kong Open is one of six events – the Scottish Open, the Spanish Open, the Japan Open, the Australian Open and the South African Open are the others – that now award the winner an invitation to the Masters and an Open Championship exemption.
“I’m very excited to go back and play in my third Open and to have that drive down Magnolia Lane for the first time will be even more special. Historic tournaments like this deserve those spots so it’s great to take advantage of those.” – Tom McKibbin
For McKibbin, widely considered one of the game’s emerging stars, the victory immediately changes his 2026 plans while Fisk must still earn his way to Augusta.
“I’m very excited to go back and play in my third Open and to have that drive down Magnolia Lane for the first time will be even more special. Historic tournaments like this deserve those spots so it’s great to take advantage of those,” McKibbin said after his victory in Hong Kong.
It’s a good change to the Masters qualifications (though the Scottish Open by virtue of its PGA Tour status already included an invitation) because of how watered down the tour’s fall schedule has become. While it still produces good stories – Michael Brennan’s emergence is the latest example – winning the Bank of Utah Championship or the Baycurrent Championship doesn’t carry the same weight as winning during the regular season.
• It’s getting down to the nitty gritty for players trying to secure their full PGA Tour privileges for 2026 with just three events remaining beginning with the World Wide Technology Championship this week in Mexico.
With the number of full qualifiers dropping to 100 from 125 this year, David Lipsky sits on at No. 100 but needs at least one strong finish to lock down his place.
Among the players between the 90th and 110th spots, Max Homa, Adam Scott, Billy Horschel, Tom Kim and Austin Eckroat are already exempt for 2026 but others aren’t so secure.
Beau Hossler is 98th, Scott is 99th, and Horschel is 101st followed by Sami Valimaki, Isaiah Salinda and Patrick Fishburn. Deeper down the line, Brandt Snedeker is 119th and Matt Kuchar is 120th.
All it takes is one strong week to end the uncertainty but the window of opportunity is closing fast.
• The announcement that changes are underway at the Old Course at St Andrews, adding 132 yards and tweaking the placement of a handful of bunkers is one more sign of how the game has changed.
How the Old Course plays is weather dependent and while the extra yardage will make some difference, it’s likely the bunker work could be more impactful. When the wind blows, the Old Course is brilliantly challenging and strategy comes to the forefront.
We’ve become accustomed to classic courses being stretched and reimagined in recent years but it seems particularly jarring when it’s the Old Course. The game is never going back to the way it was when a 400-yard par-4 was considered long and the Old Course isn’t exempt from reacting to the game’s evolution.
It will be forever relevant from an historical perspective but the changes are necessary for it to remain competitively relevant. Just another sign of the times.