Seoul: Kim Si-woo, a four-time PGA Tour winner from South Korea, is reportedly on the verge of joining a Saudi Arabia-backed renegade tour next season. Tom Hobbs of Flushing It Golf reported Wednesday (U.S. local time) that Kim was in "late stage negotiations" to join the LIV Golf League, along with another high-profile South Korean PGA Tour player.
According to Yonhap News Agency, it's unclear what is holding up the deal, but league sources are confident it will be agreed before the 2026 season starts. LIV Golf is bankrolled by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. Since its launch in 2022, LIV Golf has successfully poached some major names from the PGA Tour, including major champions Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jon Rahm.
In 2025, 13 teams, each made up of four players, competed in LIV Golf, which runs both team and individual standings. Iron Heads GC, captained by Korean American Kevin Na, finished last after recruiting the 2024 Korea PGA Tour Player of the Year Jang Yu-bin as the first South Korean player in LIV Golf. After each season, players who finish 49th or lower are relegated from LIV Golf and are released from their teams. With Jang having suffered that fate after ending his first season at No. 52, Iron Heads GC, which also includes Korean-born Kiwi Danny Lee, is reportedly set to fill that void by signing Kim.
Kim, 30, is No. 47 in the world rankings. His biggest win to date came at the 2017 Players Championship, a tournament commonly referred to as "the fifth major" for its lucrative purse and deep field. He remains the youngest winner of the prestigious tournament. In 2025, Kim made 22 cuts in 30 starts with three top-10 finishes. He has also competed in the last three Presidents Cups for the International Team.
Other reports claimed that fellow South Korean Im Sung-jae was also on his way to LIV Golf, but a source close to the player told Sports Illustrated that there's a "zero percent" chance the two-time winner and the former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year is leaving. Im's agency in Seoul, All That Sports, also dismissed rumors of the golfer's move to LIV Golf as "entirely false." "Im Sung-jae is concentrating on preparing for the next PGA Tour season and there is absolutely no change to his future career path," the company said. Im's caddie, Willy Wilcox, took to X to poke fun at the media speculation and wrote, "This just in. Sung Jae signs deal with NASA to play in new space tour with events on Mars and Neptune."
LIV Golf held its first tournament in South Korea in May this year at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, just west of Seoul. Earlier reports indicated that LIV will return to South Korea for May 29-31 in 2026, but the tour's official website does not show a South Korean stop. LIV Golf also announced in November its tournaments will expand from 54 holes to a more conventional 72 holes in 2026 to help make those events start counting toward the official world ranking points.