Ogilvy Laments LIV Exclusion From Presidents Cup While Warning on Chemistry
The short version
- LIV Golf players are barred from the PGA Tour-run Presidents Cup at Medinah in 2026.
- Ogilvy's International team is missing Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Smith, Louis Oosthuizen and Lucas Herbert.
- Ogilvy says he has asked multiple times about including LIV players but the ban stands.
- He warns reintroducing LIV players could disrupt the current squad's team chemistry.
- The R&A has yet to confirm an Open Championship route for LIV players in 2027.
The International captain says the Presidents Cup is weaker without LIV players but cautions that reintroducing them could unsettle a close-knit squad.
Geoff Ogilvy, captain of the International team at the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah, has acknowledged the event is diminished by the exclusion of LIV Golf players. The competition, run by the PGA Tour, does not currently allow golfers who joined the Saudi-backed circuit to take part, leaving notable names absent from both squads.
The International side is without Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Smith, Louis Oosthuizen and Lucas Herbert. Ogilvy said it would be preferable to have them available for selection, noting that he has raised the possibility of their inclusion more than once. On the American side, Bryson DeChambeau is among those sidelined by the ban.
At the same time, Ogilvy cautioned against expecting a smooth reunion. Speaking to Front Office Sports, he said the current group has built strong relationships through shared PGA Tour experience such as practice rounds and dinners, and folding in players who have been away could disturb that balance.
Ogilvy said the rules could eventually change, though the situation has not yet reached that point. He expressed hope that golf would reunify so that captains could draw from every player, while adding that those who joined LIV understood the consequences at the time.
The wider divide remains unresolved elsewhere as well. According to Yahoo, the R&A has not guaranteed LIV golfers a qualifying path into the 2027 Open Championship, with its review of exemptions for the LIV Order of Merit ongoing until that schedule is set.
