Louis Oosthuizen leaves LIV Golf for the DP World Tour to regain schedule control and target major glory, as the breakaway circuit faces scaled-back plans

2010 Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen announced his departure from LIV Golf, but following the herd didn't make the decision simple. In fact, his aspirations to keep as sharp as possible on the course suggest that he no longer views it as the premier golfing tour.

Two-time major champion Jon Rahm is likewise preparing to leave the league. This comes as the breakaway circuit scales back to a 10-event calendar for the 2027 season, alongside a complete ban on LIV golfers competing in the DP World Tour next year. Since LIV Golf's inception in 2022, Oosthuizen has served as captain of the Southern Guards, driving team success and attracting key interest to the league alongside players such as Bryson DeChambeau and Rahm.

Taking to social media, Oosthuizen announced the difficult decision he made to leave LIV Golf and continue to pursue his golf dreams on the DP World Tour, which has been the common landing spot for many of the former players of the rebel circuit.

“Five years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life, moving away from the traditional golf world and into something very special with LIV Golf and Southern Guards GC. I’m the biggest supporter of team golf and always will be. Golf needs more of it,” Oosthuizen said.

The 44-year-old added that despite the deep uncertainty surrounding LIV Golf’s future, he has no intention of retiring from professional golf.

“I realized I have a lot more in me, and my biggest fear was that the schedule on LIV 2.0 would be tough to manage,” Oosthuizen said. “I feel I have a few more years of good, competitive golf left in me, and the only way to be really sharp and competitive is through a schedule I control.”

The major winner was sad to leave behind his fellow South African professional teammates.

“Southern Guards is my team. It always has been and it always will be. That’s what makes this so difficult. This is probably the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my career, but I have to do what I believe is right for my golf,” Oosthuizen explained. “It doesn’t change how I feel about the team or the guys.”

He continued: “Bringing LIV Golf to South Africa was one of the best things I’ve done in my career. It was for the people of South Africa, and I think it was a great success. That’s the best thing that came out of this year. I’ll always be grateful to PIF and LIV for what they did for me. I made new friends and got even closer to my current friends and family.”

Speaking to the South China Morning Post at the Asian Tour’s Link Hong Kong Open, Oosthuizen said it was time to move on and prepare for golf's hardest tests.

“I’ve had some success at majors, but you work and play to have a sniff of that again. I’m at a different stage of my golfing life, but it’s pretty sweet when you still get called the Open Champion,” Oosthuizen said. “The Open is at a course I love and where I’ve won. The goal is to get my game as sharp as possible, to have myself ready, then see how it goes.”