LIV Golf has announced this Monday the list of players who will participate in its Qualifying School from 8 to 11 January at the Black Diamond Ranch in Florida. At stake are two spots in the Saudi league to form part of a new team, the fourteenth, along with the two golfers promoted from the International Series ranking. A total of 87 players will compete, of which 36 have received a direct invitation from LIV. Among them are two Spaniards: Pablo Ereño and Joel Moscatel.
Ereño has qualified through the exemption reserved for those golfers who have participated in the Palmer Cup. The Madrid golfer attempted the DP World Tour and PGA Tour schools in recent months. In the European one, he reached the final but fell at the cut made after the fourth day. Meanwhile, in the United States, he fell in the penultimate phase, just before the grand final. With the LIV School, a new job opportunity opens up for 2026.
Moscatel, on the other hand, has entered the School through an invitation. Let’s remember that he had the DP World Tour card in 2025 after a sensational season in the HotelPlanner Tour. However, he failed to maintain his rights and had to play the School. He was eliminated in the semi-finals. Like Ereño, he seeks a new opportunity in LIV Golf.
However, at stake are not only two spots for LIV Golf, undoubtedly the most enticing prize of this event, but also eight spots in the 2026 International Series, as the top 10 earn exemption to play this sequence of tournaments that grants access to LIV Golf at the end of the season. Additionally, they have an attractive prize pool.
The format of the LIV Golf School has changed this year. It is played over four days. On the first day, Thursday the 8th, a total of 67 players participate, and only the top 20 and ties will advance to the second round. Those who have qualified will join the other 20 who are exempt from that first round and will start from scratch again. The top 20 and ties qualify to compete in the third and fourth rounds, again with a reset of the results. Of those who have advanced, the top two after those two days will go to LIV, and the top 10 will earn a spot in the International Series.
Both Ereño and Moscatel have to play from the first day. In fact, those exempt from that first cut are the golfers who have fallen from LIV Golf, as well as the best from the International Series. Among the former are Matt Jones, Andy Ogletree, Anthony Kim, Ben Campbell, John Catlin, or Max Rottluff. The one who is not present is Henrik Stenson, who has already expressed his desire to return to the DP World Tour.
Beyond the Spaniards, the most significant names in this School are: Alex Levy, Matthias Schwab, Tom Lewis, Deon Germishuys, Lucas Bjerregaard, Callum Shinkwin, Max Kieffer, Callum Tarren, Jason Scrivener, or Chase Koepka.
