ZIMBABWE’S star golfers, Scott (left) and Kieran Vincent, are in a fierce battle to secure their future in the LIV Golf League as the LIV Golf Chicago tournament tees off today.
Both brothers are on the brink of relegation and must deliver strong performances to break into the top 48 of the individual standings.
Currently ranked 49th, Scott is just outside the cut-off and will need a solid showing to secure his place for next season.
His brother, Kieran, faces an even steeper challenge, entering the tournament ranked 54th with two events left to prove himself.
While other players facing relegation have exemptions to fall back on, the Vincent brothers, along with Branden Grace and Kalle Samooja, are not afforded the same safety net.
Their fate depends entirely on their performance in Chicago and the season's remaining events.
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Since signing with LIV, the Vincent brothers have earned impressive sums. Scott has pocketed US$8,3 million, while Kieran has earned US$4 million.
Any players ranked outside the top 48 after next week's LIV Golf Team Championship in Carrollton, Texas, will be automatically released from their teams.
To regain their LIV cards, they will need to compete in the 72-hole Promotions event later this year.
With just two events remaining, the stakes are higher than ever. While the focus has been on the two stars vying for the season-long individual title, many others, including the Vincent brothers, are fighting to avoid an abrupt exit from the league via relegation.
Beginning last year, LIV Golf adopted relegation, a popular aspect of English Premier League soccer, to create turnover among its ranks of players. What does that mean?
At the end of this week’s LIV Golf Chicago event, the final individual event before the season-ending team championship, players ranked below 48th in the individual standings will enter the “Drop Zone” and be relegated, or ousted from LIV for the 2025 season.
Those players will compete in a 72-hole promotion event for a chance to get back in the league.
Players ranked 25th-48th at the end of their contracts will finish in the “Open Zone”, becoming free agents with no guarantee of earning a new contract for 2025.
However, there are multiple loopholes that offer exemptions to relegation, and several star players, including three major champions, may need to make use of those exemptions to keep their LIV spot.
First, all 15 team captains are exempt from relegation. That is crucial for some big names who have struggled on the course this year.
Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson is ranked 44th heading into Chicago but is safe from relegation as captain of the HyFlyers. (Just as Majesticks co-captain Lee Westwood and Cleeks captain Martin Kaymer were exempt a year ago.)
Henrik Stenson, the 2016 Open champion and Majesticks co-captain, will not have to sweat his ranking (41st), either.
Two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson is banking on the same exemption. His captaincy of the RangeGoats protects him from relegation even if he were to fail to improve his current rank of 52nd in Chicago.
Another star player, at least in terms of attention, will lean on a different exemption to avoid relegation.
Anthony Kim (ranked 56th out of 57 LIV players) joined the league as a wild card this season, and wild cards are also exempt from the boot.
This means two other wild cards — Hudson Swafford (55th) and Laurie Canter (51st) — are also safe despite their poor play. (Though these players will escape auto-relegation, LIV could, of course, opt to not renew any contracts that are set to expire.