Multiple PGA Tour winner names the LIV Golf signing that surprised him the most

Multiple PGA Tour winner Kevin Kisner has revealed which LIV Golf signing has surprised him the most. 

The PIF-backed league launched in June 2022, luring plenty of major champions away from the PGA Tour with gargantuan signing-on fees and $25m purses. 

Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and Patrick Reed were among the first wave of recruits. 

Kisner was not at all surprised those golfers chose to pursue a different career path.

"Somebody that probably shocked me was Abraham Ancer," Kisner told Market Swings.

"I thought that was a weird one because he was kind of at his peak on the PGA Tour, really taking off."

Ancer turned pro in 2013 and made his way to the PGA Tour through via the Web.Com Tour (now Korn Ferry). 

The year before he joined LIV Golf, he enjoyed his standout season - achieving his best major finish (eighth) at the PGA Championship.

Ancer also won the 2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational after defeating Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns in a play-off. 

The victory also saw him jump to a career-high 11th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

He officially signed with LIV Golf in June 2022 after playing in the U.S. Open at Brookline Country Club. 

Ancer has since been one of the most consistent performers on the breakaway. He finished 12th in the individual standings in 2025 and has one victory to his name (March 2024). 

The golfer was part of Sergio Garcia's Fireballs quartet but was traded to Joaquin Niemann's Torque in the off-season, replacing the relegated Mito Pereira. 

In December, Pereira made the stunning decision to retire from the sport at the age of 30. 

Kisner added: "One of the things you don't understand is, like, you know, if somebody's offering you a bunch of money, it can change your life.

"You have an opportunity to change your life, your children's life, or your parents' lives. You know, it might be the right play."

Kisner gives opinion on future PGA Tour-LIV Golf deal

Kevin Kisner has previously spoken at length about the divide in the men's game. 

He served on the PGA Tour's policy board as LIV began to gather momentum. 

During an appearance on Barstool Sports' ForePlay podcast, Kisner said that he and other golfers implored PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan to sit down hear out LIV's financiers. 

The league is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's PIF. 

In June 2023, the PGA Tour announced a vague "framework agreement" with the PIF. The arrangement also included the DP World Tour. 

But the deal is yet to be consummated and at this point it is unlikely that anything will be agreed. 

Last week, Rory McIlroy cast doubt on the future of LIV Golf and also claimed he believed officials from the breakaway left talks after meetings at the White House with American president Donald Trump "offended". 

McIlroy also said he was open to the idea of LIV players returning to the PGA Tour as they have "paid their consequence" in terms of their reputations taking a hit. 

The Masters champion also urged the PGA Tour to let the aforementioned Koepka back into the fold after he quit LIV despite having 12 months left on his reported $100m deal. 

"I would say that I think everyone thought there would be a merger or a partnership sooner than has happened," Kisner explained.

"And I mean, obviously, LIV can stand on its own because they have the money, and he who has all the gold makes the rules, right.

"But the PGA Tour has proved that they can stand on their own and they can sustain, and they can continue to grow.

"Even on the broadcast, you know, we’re beating all the ratings this year in every broadcast I did down the stretch, so people were watching and more engaged than ever.

"So it's obviously the model that works."