Poulter's participation in the LIV Golf series faces potential termination as the 2025 season nears its conclusion.
In the final stretch of the 2025 LIV Golf League season, a tense relegation battle unfolded, with several big names, including Ian Poulter, facing the threat of being dropped from the league.
Poulter, who joined the league in 2022, entered the final event, LIV Golf Indianapolis, ranked 52nd with 4.5 points. To avoid relegation, players needed to stay above 48th in the final points standings. Anyone finishing 49th or below was automatically relegated from the league.
As the tournament progressed, Poulter staged a dramatic late surge, birdieing four of his last five holes. This impressive finish allowed him to finish tied for 22nd place, narrowly avoiding relegation and pushing his teammate Henrik Stenson (who finished 49th) into the relegation zone.
Poulter's career-saving performance came at a crucial time. Players finishing 49th or lower after the last regular-season event are relegated from the LIV Golf League and lose their spots for the next season. The six players relegated this season included Stenson, Andy Ogletree, Mito Pereira, Yubin Jang, Anthony Kim, and Frederik Kjettrup.
The relegation fight extended to team captains, with all three Majesticks GC co-captains—Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, and Ian Poulter—facing potential relegation at the close of the season.
Poulter's late-season surge was crucial, as his birdies in the final holes lifted him above the relegation cut-off and forced Stenson into the Drop Zone instead.
Those relegated can only return by winning the International Series crown on the Asian Tour or through LIV Golf Promotions (a qualifying event akin to a Q-School). The top 24 in points are in the "Lock Zone" with guaranteed contracts for next season. Positions 25 to 48, called the "Open Zone," face uncertainty as they could be traded, released, or retained.
Poulter's narrow escape from relegation comes after a successful career spanning over two decades. He joined LIV Golf League in 2022 and, in his inaugural season, scored 16 points and finished 31st. His career earnings in excess of $40 million may lead him to consider retirement off the back of his performance in LIV Golf Indianapolis.
As the 2025 LIV Golf League season draws to a close, Poulter is currently competing and will aim to secure his place in the league for the 2026 season. A career which began in 1995 could be days away from ending with a potential goodbye set for the LIV Golf Team Championship in Michigan later this month.
Ian Poulter's impressive performance in the final event of the 2025 LIV Golf League, LIV Golf Indianapolis, where he birdied four of his last five holes, allowed him to narrowly avoid relegation and pushed his teammate Henrik Stenson into the relegation zone.
Players relegated from the LIV Golf League, such as Stenson, can only return by winning the International Series crown on the Asian Tour or through LIV Golf Promotions, a qualifying event akin to a Q-School.
