Henrik Stenson has been relegated from the LIV Golf Tour after a nightmare third round saw him leapfrogged by a former Ryder Cup teammate to fall into the last relegation zone spot.
The Majestics LIV golf team knew that their players were in serious danger of being eliminated from the circuit, with Stenson and Lee Westwood only just outside the relegation zone and Ian Poulter firmly in it.
All three needed positive results at LIV Indianapolis.
The two Englishmen produced the goods while the former Open champion, Stenson, saw his lucrative LIV Tour card ripped up.
A nightmare final round for Henrik Stenson ends in relegation
The Swedish star started the final event of the Individual season well and was tied for third at 12 under par through the first 36 of 54 holes in the event.
His safety looked all but certain, but a Sunday that will haunt him saw him go one over par on a day where some were 11 under par, resulting in a T22 finish for him.
Results still could have gone his way, but Ian Poulter, who has struggled for any consistency all season, pulled together three rounds under par to beat him by a stroke and jump out of the relegation zone to eliminate his teammate by the barest of margins.
It was the most sickening of results for Stenson, who not only will have to find somewhere else to play his golf, but he will lose the eye-watering sums of cash that come with being a member of the LIV Tour.
Just how close was Ian Poulter to being relegated?
The three-time PGA Tour winner has had a truly lacklustre season on the LIV circuit, spending the majority of the season in the relegation zone and 52nd heading into the final event of the season, some four positions off the 48th spot needed for safety.
Despite not making as hot a start to the Indianapolis event as Stenson, Poulter finally strung together a consistent 54 holes of competition golf that proved just enough to see him over the line.
At the halfway point, Stenson looked to be on track to ensure safety by the skin of his teeth with a healthy projected finish in the standings.
But Poulter played his best two holes of 2025 when they mattered with two birdies to close his round, escaping from the Relegation zone by one stroke on his final hole of the season.
Poulter was behind Stenson with 18 holes to play on Sunday and managed to shoot a handy four under par to steal the final Open zone LIV place from his former European Ryder Cup teammates, whose Sunday afternoon shocker saw him defeated by the finest of margins in the cruellest of ways.
Poulter finished the LIV 2025 season safe in 48th place with 6.50 points.
Stenson’s one over Sunday saw him drop into the relegation zone for the first time as he fell just shy with 6.12 points and a lot less future prize money than his Majestics teammate.
Banned from the PGA Tour – what’s next for Henrik Stenson?
When Stenson, along with other LIV breakaways, defected from the PGA Tour, he conceded his Tour card and was fined for leaving.
Following this, a return to the PGA Tour is unlikely, with huge fines expected if he attempted what would make him the first former LIV player to attempt to rejoin the Tour.
More realistically, Stenson will have to accept that his best option at this point is to rejoin the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour), but even this could come with some caveats.
It’ll be interesting to see what Stenson does next as he’s undoubtedly the biggest name to be axed from the LIV Golf Tour.
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Article Link: LIV 2026: How Ian Poulter stole a Tour card from relegated next-door neighbour