LIV Golf’s midseason trade window is open. Here’s what to expect from the 13 teams

Photo: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Halfway through its third season, the LIV Golf League has implemented its first midseason trade window.

As of Wednesday, May 8, the 13 teams are able to trade players through June 9 and can also negotiate contract extensions with players in the final year of their contract.

Both teams must agree to the trade and modifications to player contracts are not allowed, meaning the team a player is traded to is then on the hook for the duration of that player’s contract.

“As LIV Golf grows, the League will continue to establish opportunities to strengthen the competition. By opening a trade window midway through the season, all 13 teams have an opportunity to fine-tune their rosters and assess their team’s composition and performance,” said LIV Golf Commissioner and CEO Greg Norman via a release.

A handful of trades were made in the offseason before the start of the 2024 campaign that saw Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC acquire Harold Varner III from Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC for Peter Uihlein. Watson continued to tweak his roster after he traded 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch to Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC for Matthew Wolff.

But what should we expect from the midseason window? The most interesting aspect of LIV is the team competition, so let’s have a little fun, put on our speculation hats and take a look at which players may be on the move from all 13 teams.

Crushers GC
2024 LIV Golf Jeddah
Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri of Crushers GC poses with the team trophy after day three of the LIV Golf Invitational – Jeddah at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on March 03, 2024 in King Abdullah Economic City , Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC won the team title in 2023 and are atop the season standings at the halfway point. The bulked-up bomber glows when he talks about his teammates Paul Casey, Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri, specifically their work ethic and camaraderie. Don’t expect any changes here.

Legion XIII
LIV Golf
Jon Rahm of Team Legion XIII with teammates after the final round of the LIV Golf Mayakoba tournament at El Chamaleon Golf Course. (Photo: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports)

Jon Rahm’s expansion side has finished in the top five in six of seven events, including a pair of wins in Mayakoba and Miami. I’d be surprised if Rahm dealt his friend and Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton, or either of his young guns in Caleb Surratt or Kieran Vincent. If anyone on this team were to be traded, it’d most likely be Vincent, who hasn’t finished inside the top 20 and is No. 52 on the individual season standings.

Ripper GC
LIV Golf Adelaide
Ripper GC players Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Cameron Smith and Matt Jones with their caddies during LIV Adelaide at The Grange Golf Club on April 28, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)

Cameron Smith’s Ripper GC is in third place just 15 points back and is riding a two-event win streak. The all-Aussie side won’t be broken up. Next.

Torque GC
LIV Golf Adelaide
Sebastián Muñoz of Torque GC, Carlos Ortiz of Torque GC and Mito Pereira of Torque GC seen on the 18th hole during the first round of LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club on Friday, April 26, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Santanu Banik/LIV Golf)

The worst finish of the year for Joaquin Niemann’s side? A T-6 in the last event in Singapore. This team is loaded with young talent, and they’re all friends. If you’re noticing a trend with the top teams, there probably won’t be any movement here. Mito Pereira has struggled mightily with six finishes out of seven outside the top 30, but he and his countryman Niemann are too close to be separated this soon.

Stinger GC
LIV Golf Tulsa
Stinger GC celebrate after winning the team championship during the final round of a LIV Golf event at Cedar Ridge Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Joey Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The South Africans won’t be broken up either. Just don’t see it happening. Yes, Branden Grace is in 50th on the individual standings (out of 55, remember) and the rest of the squad is in the top 15, but LIV likes the idea of having teams with identities, and this is a tight-knit group. All four players will stay.

Smash GC
2024 LIV Golf Las Vegas
Smash GC team captain Brooks Koepka with teammates Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak and Graeme McDowell after winning the team championship during the final round of the LIV Golf Las Vegas tournament at Las Vegas Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s where it gets interesting. Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC made a key switch in the offseason and parted ways with Wolff for individual champion Talor Gooch. He’ll stay. Koepka has some serious love for Graeme McDowell, a player he looked up to when he was starting out as a professional, which leaves Kokrak. Koepka has spoken highly of Kokrak in the past, but with the team in sixth place, if a change were to be made, I think he’d be the odd man out.

RangeGoats GC
2024 LIV Golf Jeddah
Bubba Watson of RangeGoats GC plays a tee shot on the 16th hole during day two of the LIV Golf Invitational – Jeddah at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on March 02, 2024 in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Watson blew up his team from last year, despite the fact they finished second at the team championship, and now the team is in seventh place. Watson already made his moves, so I doubt he’ll make more midway through the season. The lowest-ranked player on the team is Watson, who can’t trade himself, but he has hinted in the past that if his game isn’t good enough, he’ll take a step back as a playing captain and just manage the team. Keep an eye on the RangeGoats this offseason, but not this midseason.

Fireballs GC

Eugenio Chacarra of Fireballs GC and Captain Sergio Garcia of Fireballs GC wait on the 18th hole during the final round of the LIV Golf Tucson at the Gallery Golf Club on Sunday, Mar. 19, 2023 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Montana Pritchard/LIV Golf)

From here on out, this is where it could get interesting. The teams on the bottom half are hardly heard from, and from what I gather, Garcia likes his nearly all-Spanish team. They’ve consistenly been a middle-of-the-pack squad with an average finish of 5.85 out of 13. Let’s say Garcia feels froggy and decides to leap, that puts Eugenio Chacarra (36th) and David Puig (43rd) in the spotlight. Do I think anything will happen here? Nope. But could it?

Cleeks GC
2023 LIV Golf Team Championship
Captain Martin Kaymer of Cleeks GC reacts on the ninth green during Day One of the LIV Golf Invitational – Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on October 20, 2023 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

The Cleeks have been in dire need of a rebrand from the team name to the team captain in Martin Kaymer, but since he can’t go, let’s look at the rest of the roster. Newby Adrian Meronk leads the team in 18th, 51-year-old Richard Bland is in 25th while Kalle Samooja, who qualified for LIV through its promotions event, brings up the rear all the day down in 48th (even Kaymer is beating him). The Fin has struggled for the majority of his time on the 54-hole circuit, and he may be back in the promotions event again this offseason. Will anyone take him halfway through the season though? Probably not, so this may be another wash.

4Aces GC
2023 LIV Golf Team Championship Miami
Captain Dustin Johnson of 4Aces GC and Patrick Reed of 4Aces GC fist bump on the practice green during the pro-am prior to the LIV Golf Invitational – Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on October 19, 2023 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

The former champions have been conducting the struggle bus this year and have two 12th-place finishes (out of 13 teams) to go along with a 10th place and a pair of 8th-place showings as well. Captain Dustin Johnson hasn’t been afraid to make a deal in the past (he previously let Talor Gooch leave at the end of 2022 and then dealt Peter Uihlein last year). The problem with the teams at the bottom is, who wants to take Harold Varner III (46th) or Pat Perez (49th)? Patrick Reed is only in 30th, so he could be worth something to a team in the top half, but I wouldn’t hold my breath there.

HyFlyers GC
2024 LIV Golf Miami
Phil Mickelson of the HiFlyers plays his shot from the fifth tee during the first round of LIV Golf Miami golf tournament at Trump National Doral. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Now let’s talk about Lefty. Phil Mickelson’s team has been disappointing this season and doesn’t have too much value. I can’t see Mickelson getting rid of Brendan Steele, who currently sits 16th thanks to his frankly out-of-nowhere win in Adelaide, or newcomer Andy Ogletree, who has a vanity 28th-place position on the season-long standings thanks to a T-3 in Adelaide that’s making up for five finishes outside of the top 40. I doubt folks will be lining up for Cameron Tringale (40th) either, but Mickelson needs to do something in the trade window or offseason.

Majesticks GC
2023 LIV Golf Team Championship
Co-Captain Ian Poulter of Majesticks GC and Co-Captain Lee Westwood of Majesticks GC look on from the eighth fairway during Day One of the LIV Golf Invitational – Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on October 20, 2023 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

This team needs to be blown up and start from scratch. I’ve never understood the three-captain deal with Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, and I’m not sure any of the three bring any real value to LIV anymore after the initial season. Seeing as the three-headed monsters at the bottom of each leaderboard can’t be dealt, that puts Sam Horsfield in an uncomfortable position. He’s flirting with the relegation zone down in 45th place and could have some upside to a team who may want an open spot at the end of next year.

Iron Heads GC
Kevin Na
Kevin Na of Ironheads GC reacts after missing a putt on the second hole during Day One of the LIV Golf Invitational – Tulsa at Cedar Ridge Country Club on May 12, 2023 in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)

Kevin Na’s captaincy with LIV has been a disaster from the jump. Danny Lee and Jinichiro Kozuma are tied for 38th and Scott Vincent is all the way down in 51st out of 55. There’s only so much Na can do, but this team has consistently been at the back of the pack and far from competitive. Who wants a piece of that? I’d say nobody. This caboose needs to be detached from the train.