Why LIV Golf relegating Henrik Stenson, Anthony Kim is actually a win

New York Times

6 hours ago

WESTFIELD, Ind. — Ian Poulter kept walking. Faster and faster. Missed putt? Just tap it in. Keep moving. Bad shot? No response. Keep walking. This strategy extended to questions as well, with Poulter quickly walking by a reporter attempting to discuss on Thursday the extremely likely possibility that on Sunday, he would be relegated from the bold risk he took in the twilight of his career. No, thank you. 'I just want to play good golf this week,' he said before returning to his prep.
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So walking down the fairway to the 17th green at The Club at Chatham Hills in northeast Indianapolis was a man who three years ago accepted north of $20 million to join a league he was now about to be kicked out of. Poulter, 49, had five holes left to escape LIV Golf's drop zone that — according to the fledgling league — will actually relegate its stars this summer if they fail to finish in the top 48 of the season-long standings.
But then Poulter hit a salty chip to birdie his 14th hole. Then he hit a tough putt on his 15th for another. Amid the sizable Indianapolis crowds surrounding that green, conversations ensued about how it was too late for Poulter. He couldn't make up such ground.
But here's where it really gets interesting. Because the other two men he was chasing were his teammates. Three Ryder Cup legends and accomplished greats now playing for a team known as the Majesticks found themselves in trouble.
And that's the most important thing that happened this week at LIV Indianapolis, not who lifted trophies or won the most money.
A year ago, this exact situation was a non-story. A potentially captivating element of a league attempting to prove it is real golf was nipped in the bud. Two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson, the 45-year-old captain of the RangeGoats, finished inside the drop zone, meant for relegation. But he was allowed to stay on because of the 'business case' which highlighted the commercial value Watson provided as the biggest star on his team. The same exception allowed South African golfer Branden Grace to avoid relegation from the Stingers. This decision was heavily criticized, only further bolstering skeptics' allegation that it's exhibition golf.
This summer, players like Poulter, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson — the three co-captains and part-owners of the Majesticks — were warned by new LIV CEO Scott O'Neill not to expect it to happen again.
.@WestwoodLee's Texas Wedge for birdie lifts him up the standings 💪
📺 Watch on @FOXTV 📲 Stream on the LIV Golf App#LIVGolfIndy @MajesticksGC pic.twitter.com/mJo5izYNQU
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) August 17, 2025
This became known in July, right as O'Neill and LIV applied for Official World Golf Ranking points. Attempts by previous CEO Greg Norman were denied, primarily because the Saudi-funded, 54-hole, no-cut format league with small field sizes lacked proper open qualifying or promotion and relegation. While O'Neill has declined to offer specifics on what changes might have been made to give him the confidence he has that the application will be successful, conversations with various LIV executives this week made clear that providing actual promotion and relegation plays some part in proving the league is a proper meritocracy.
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LIV is adamant that these changes are real. For example, LIV has had Anthony Kim, once golf's mysterious recluse, playing as a 'wild card' for the past two seasons. Bringing in Kim had value, with both LIV and the PGA Tour engaging in conversations with Kim about joining their respective tours. His mystique had the potential to bring eyeballs. But even when Kim finished 56th last year, he was back in 2025. That, along with the Watson/Grace decisions, proved a bad look. Kim is once again in the drop zone, failing to earn a single point all season. Indications this time are that Kim's free wild card spots are over. Kim would likely need to either play his way in through LIV's promotion event in the winter or play well enough in LIV's International Series as part of the Asian Tour.
The Majesticks are most acutely feeling the impact of LIV playing hardball.
Riding the momentum of his two birdies, Poulter hit a dart on No. 1, his 17th hole, that settled two feet from the pin for another birdie. Moments later, he walked to the par-3 No. 2 and put another iron shot four feet away for his fourth birdie in a row. All of this happened as Stenson, the 2016 Open Championship winner, missed a 3-foot par putt on No. 11 and failed to get up and down on the par-5 17th. In what felt like a whiplash, Poulter leapt over Stenson and into safety with one hole remaining. Stenson had one last chance for a birdie to keep his place. His putt rocketed past the hole, and Stenson took off walking the moment it left his club. It was over. Westwood stayed alive in 47th, with Poulter just behind him at No. 48, knocking out their teammate in the process.
Suddenly, Stenson, a golfer who accepted a reported $50 million to not just join LIV Golf but ultimately have the 2023 Ryder Cup captaincy taken from him, was ejected from the league in which he maintains an equity share of a team.
For LIV, this could — if they stick to it — prove a valuable moment in its OWGR application process.
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For Stenson, it raises a fascinating question: What is life for a LIV team captain who doesn't play on the team?
Does he try to play his way back in via the promotion event or the International Series? Does he pay the outstanding fines and try to return to the DP World Tour? Does he lean into being a celebrity team owner and mentor for the Majesticks? That's something people around LIV would love to see happen as golfers phase out as players but maintain equity in the teams, but it's also difficult to imagine a 49-year-old who was ranked No. 20 in the world just five years ago accepting an end to his career that suddenly.
DP World Tour dynamics will be fascinating, as qualified players such as Stenson are eligible to return as long as they pay the fines given for each LIV event played after they resigned from the tour. Westwood, speaking with The Telegraph last month, said, 'LIV would pay my fines, which are ridiculously about £900,000 and I still have several exemptions to play on that circuit. LIV would already have paid my fines if I'd asked, but I didn't do it out of principle. It's a daft amount anyway.'
The Athletic attempted to ask these very questions to these Majesticks stars Sunday evening, both to Poulter about his epic season-saving run and Stenson about what comes next. But in the minutes after LIV Indianapolis' completion, countless vans and SUVs lined the driveway out of The Club of Chatham Hills. Players quickly walked steps from the entrance and into their escorts, curling out before Jon Rahm's individual season championship celebration had even begun. Majesticks staff members lugged off bags and equipment into trucks as a representative for Poulter and Stenson said the players would not be speaking to the media.
Relegation is a positive for LIV, even if it's a negative subject. Having a format in which only 48 golfers keep their place creates drama and intrigue. It is something the league can lean into, much like European soccer's dramatic relegation battles. Yet LIV is still tiptoeing around it, likely not wanting to put too much attention on the struggles of its foundational stars. Sunday's broadcast was rightfully focused on Rahm unsuccessfully competing with Sebastian Munoz for the tournament title and successfully beating Joaquin Niemann for the season-long championship. It should be. But it also kept it difficult to keep up with what was happening at the bottom of the table.
Aside from the winning shots, the best moment of Sunday's LIV broadcast was just a quiet moment of sorrow. Cameras cut to 27-year-old Andy Ogletree with his hands over his head, pulling his shirt over his face to hide the tears. Six years ago, Ogletree won the U.S. Amateur and made the cut at the Masters. But Sunday, playing through an injury, Ogletree shot a disappointing 70 to drop to 22nd in the tournament and 50th in the standings.
The broadcast lingered on Ogletree, hardly saying a word as it focused on him declining a cart ride and slowly, painfully walking back from the first green to the clubhouse. He truly cared, and now it's unclear what's next for him.
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The greatest moments in golf are because we truly understand the pain that surrounds any moment of glory. There are no captivatingly positive stories if the negatives aren't understood first. LIV is about to relegate a team captain. Now, it just needs to lean in.
(Top photo of Henrik Stenson: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
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