LIV Golf-linked PGA Tour winner goes online to clarify future plans amid rumours

Aldrich Potgieter appears to have distanced himself with a move to LIV Golf. 

The 21-year-old recently withdrew from the PGA Tour's event in Utah after the first round despite carding a level par 71 at Black Desert Resort. 

It sparked speculation he was on the brink of agreeing a move to the PIF-backed league, with the all-South African Stinger side the likely destination. 

LIV Golf are on a hiatus at the moment and will begin their fourth full season next February in under the lights in Saudi Arabia. 

Six players, including former Open champion Henrik Stenson and former PGA Tour star turned golf's yeti, Anthony Kim, were among those relegated last term.

In total, there are five LIV franchises that need to recruit full-time replacements for the 2026 campaign. 

Given his age, obvious talent and explosive power, Potgieter fits the bill as the type of player LIV would be looking to sign. 

It was previously reported LIV are no longer trying to tempt the game's biggest players with the allure of gargantuan up-front sums. 

But Potgieter has suggested with his latest post on Instagram that he's already thinking ahead to the new PGA Tour season which begins next January in Hawaii. 

He wrote: "What a rookie season it's been on the PGA Tour. Grateful to get my first win, make the FedEx Cup playoffs, and take a lot of positives from the year. 

"Excited for a bit of an off-season coming up with the Nedbank and Dunhill in South Africa to finish things off. 

"Lots to also work on before January rolls around for the start of the 2026 PGA Tour season. Big thanks to my team, family, friends and all the support I get from the fans."

Elsewhere, Sport Business Journal's Josh Carpenter has  reported Potgieter has left management company GSE Worldwide for Entertainment Sports Partners. 

GSE's clients include LIV players Bryson DeChambeau, Abraham Ancer, Paul Casey, Joaquin Niemann, Jason Kokrak, Louis Oosthuizen, Carlos Ortiz and Sebastian Munoz. 

Entertainment Sports Partners represent four-time major champion Ernie Els, who is a long-time critic of LIV Golf. 

Els previously said he doesn't believe LIV's format works, describing it as "circus golf". 

"I understand that the guys go because of the money," the Big Easy previously said. "

"It's just a ridiculous amount — and you get to a certain point in your career, you have to consider it.

"But it’s not golf as we know it anymore. It's a very different product."

Which players have been linked with a move to LIV Golf for 2026?

Several names previously mentioned have cropped up again. 

Major champion, former World No.1 and 15-time PGA Tour winner Jason Day previously revealed his agent was in talks with LIV, only to be told that he was too injury-prone to join. 

Wyndham Clark, the 2022 US Open winner, said in February 2024 that he was content on the PGA Tour despite meeting with LIV officials. 

Clark appeared to admit he was open to a future open, saying he did not now what the future holds. 

Tony Finau's name has been consistently linked with LIV and the rumours intensified last December when he withdrew from the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. 

Finau said the withdrawal was as a result of an injury but some sources claimed this was a cover.

In recent weeks, there has also been some chatter about Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee. 

Kim was seen as a rising star in 2022 but has struggled on the course this season. 

Lee's manager recently said there was no substance to the rumours linking him with a switch. 

LIV Golf players and teams 2026

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