Former Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen became the latest golfer to leave the LIV Golf League, announcing Wednesday that he is returning to the DP World Tour in 2027.
The 44-year-old was captain of the all-South African Southern Guards GC team since the breakaway circuit’s inception in June 2022.
“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,” Oosthuizen said in a statement posted to his X account Wednesday. “I’m the biggest supporter of team golf and always will be. Golf needs more of it.”
Oosthuizen, whose 11 victories on the DP World Tour include the 2010 Open Championship at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, said the European circuit will give him more flexibility in his schedule.
“I realized I have a lot more in me, and my biggest fear was that the schedule on LIV 2.0 would be tough to manage,” Oosthuizen said. “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.”
LIV Golf voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 8. Last week, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge allowed LIV Golf to reject certain golfers’ contracts — including Oosthuizen’s — as part of its restructuring.
The league is hoping to launch LIV 2.0 in 2027 even after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had pulled its funding, which had reached more than $5 billion over the past five years, according to court records.
LIV Golf has secured a potential $300 million investment from BC Partners, including an initial loan of $4 million to help keep operations going during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. The term sheet for the potential deal with BC Partners states that LIV Golf must retain a certain number of golfers and key players to complete the transaction.
Golfers face a Sunday deadline to decide whether to compete in LIV 2.0, although the league said BC Partners can extend the deadline.
A LIV Golf attorney said last week that the league should know by the end of the month if it will proceed with LIV 2.0 in 2027 or wind down its operations.
Two-time major champion Jon Rahm reached a separation agreement with LIV Golf last week, and golfers such as Charles Howell III, Thomas Pieters, David Puig, Abraham Ancer and Adrian Meronk have indicated they won’t return.
Another group of golfers, including Sergio Garcia, Cameron Smith, Harold Varner III, Matthew Wolff and Marc Leishman, have asked a federal bankruptcy court judge to terminate their contracts with LIV Golf so they can explore other playing options.
Richard Bland, Ben Campbell, Brendan Steele and Cameron Tringale are the only players who have publicly stated that they would return to LIV 2.0.
Sources told ESPN this week that two-time U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau remains committed to LIV Golf and is working diligently behind the scenes to bring LIV 2.0 to fruition.
Last week, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings told BBC Sport that his circuit won’t give conditional status to golfers who join LIV Golf 2.0 in 2027.
Golfers have until Nov. 16 to apply for DP World Tour membership for next season.
