Wyndham vs. Rory and what’s next for LIV Golf

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss LIV Golf’s future, the BMW Championship, the Presidents Cup and more. 

1. LIV Golf ended its 2026 on Sunday with Michael La Sasso winning the season finale at LIV Indianapolis, which became the league’s final event of the season after its team championship in Michigan was canceled. There’s been much rumored and reported about LIV’s future over the past couple of months, including this past week from reporters on-site. Based on the latest developments, what do you think is next for LIV Golf now? And do you think we’ll see it next year in some fashion?

Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): I’d wager that it exists in some ghostly form, or, to borrow a phrase from our colleague Sean Zak, that it stumbles on as a kind of zombie league, with moving parts but no real life at its center.

Nick Piastowski, senior editor (@nickpia): Talks. Talks with players. Talks with those around the teams. Talks with those within the league. Talks with tournaments cities. Talks with the investor. Talks with other investors. There’s maybe a deadline for some. Maybe a soft deadline for others. Then LIV takes stock of who’s all in and who’s all out. My guess is it returns next year. But that prediction could change tomorrow. And maybe change back the next day. 

Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): I think it plays on next year, but the next couple of months will be really important to see which (star) players are there. I know there are contracts involved here and it’s not like some guys can just get up and leave, but we’re entering a weird period where it’s hard to predict anything right now. It’s difficult to rule anything out. The biggest thing is the league needs investors, but the investors need stars in the league. So, what are the stars — Bryson and Rahm — thinking right now? For what LIV has gotten wrong, it’s actually done a great job establishing itself in some international markets (like Australia) so it’ll be interesting to see how much that blueprint continues to develop.

2. What was the most interesting nugget or bit of information you learned from LIV Golf Indianapolis?

Sens: Just how much denial remains at the heart of the enterprise, at least in the way LIV reps discuss the league in public. Lots of talk of potential investors and player equity stakes and a rejiggered calendar, etc. Zero acknowledgement of the fact that they don’t have a compelling product — at least not a product with anywhere near the appeal to justify the crazy sums of money its players want and expect to be paid. This is a challenge across professional golf, but the PGA Tour has a better chance of addressing it because it has a product it can actually sell.

Piastowski: I was interested that LIV CEO Scott O’Neil said he hasn’t talked with PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp in recent months. I was also interested in that O’Neil says the LIV Goal is to “complete, not compete.”

Berhow: O’Neil was not happy with the DP World Tour. I think he felt somewhat betrayed there. The league is already in trouble and that was an important lifeline for his guys. It was like more walls just continuing to close in.

3. Wyndham Clark won the BMW Championship, overcoming a slow start (and Rory McIlroy down the stretch) to win for the third time this season. What was your takeaway from Sunday’s action, which for a while looked like it wasn’t going to fall Wyndham’s way?

Sens: That, whether you root for him or not, Clark is an interesting player to watch. One minute, he looks lost; the next, he seems unbeatable. There’s an unpredictability to him that makes for compelling entertainment.

Piastowski: Gary Woodland. Clark was great at the end. McIlroy wasn’t. Woodland’s story is the story of the year. He’s playing in the Tour Championship for the first time since 2019. Incredible. 

Berhow: He didn’t have his best stuff, but man, Wyndham can close golf tournaments. He’s now 4 for 5 converting 54-hole leads on Tour. Regardless of the size of them, you still gotta play good, high-pressure golf on Sundays and actually win the golf tournament. (He also proved he can do this with the crowds against him, like at Shinnecock a few months ago.) It was fun to see Rory get in the mix, but I was shocked to see his play down the stretch.

4. While Clark won the BMW Championship, there was also that other important cutoff at the top 30, which determines who goes to next week’s Tour Championship (and also gets at 2027 Masters bid). Which player on either side of this line is most notable to you?

Sens: Adam Scott. He’s 46 and hasn’t won on Tour in more than six years. But here is, moving on again at No. 28 in the standings. “Success” takes a lot of different shapes, and Scott has found an incredibly durable form of it.

Piastowski: Rickie Fowler is certainly an answer here. But I’ll go with Sungjae Im, who narrowly missed going eight for eight in advancing to East Lake to start his career. 

Berhow: It was awesome to see Gary Woodland jump up from outside the top 30 and get a spot in the Tour Championship for the first time since 2019. He’s an easy guy to root for. Although I was a little bummed to see Rickie finish just outside of it. It’s kinda crazy to think he’s played this good of golf and to stay relevant for this long but has played in the Masters only once in the past six years.

5. Also Sunday, we found out Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley and Collin Morikawa have all made the U.S. Presidents Cup team as auto-qualifiers, with Brandt Snedeker’s six captain’s picks coming after the Tour Championship. Which potential captain’s pick has the most to worry about right now?

Sens: Prior the past couple of weeks, I would have said Patrick Cantlay, who has played in the past three Presidents Cup but has had a mostly uninspired 2026. Now that Cantlay is showing signs of life and will probably earn a nod along with Xander Schauffele, I’d say it’s J.J. Spaun. He’s not far outside the bubble, but it wouldn’t be hard for Snedeker to justify bypassing him in favor of a grinder with far better putting stats. Someone like, say, Ryan Gerard.

Piastowski: Spaun’s a good one. I’ll add Ben Griffin, who’s No. 8 in the standings, but has missed the weekend in two of his past four events, won’t play in the Tour Championship and hasn’t won this year. 

Berhow: Cantlay (now 13th in the standings) might have just played himself into it, which might be bad news for guys like Griffin and Jacob Bridgeman, who’s 12th in the standings. J.J. Spaun was 2-1-0 at the 2025 Ryder Cup; I think he’s safe.

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