Ian Poulter has endorsed LIV Golf's tougher 2026 relegation regime, which now puts roughly 20 per cent of the field at risk of losing their card, while acknowledging the emotional cost of the system after his Majestics GC teammate Henrik Stenson was cut loose at the end of last season.
Speaking at LIV Golf's pre-season event, Poulter said he believed the new structure would sharpen the competition and give the league a stronger case for Official World Golf Ranking points.
"Yeah, look, 20% of the league, I think, um, are going to get relegated this year and it's it's great for us. I think, you know, the league have done an amazing job to to structure things in in the right way to to put pressure on OWG our points. You know, we've ticked pretty much every single box. I don't know what else there's going to be left," Poulter said.
He pointed to the expanded pathways into the league as another piece of the puzzle.
"So, um I think we're all pretty happy with the way, you know, the league have structured it, you know, moving forward. There's going to be some pathways to come up. There's the extra, you know, pathway for for the guys last week to obviously three three three cards to come into the league, which is fantastic. and the international series is is gaining strength, you know, every every single year."
The flip side of that competitive pressure was made vivid by the end of the 2025 season. Poulter described the tension of the final event, when he, Lee Westwood and Stenson were all watching leaderboards to work out who would survive.
"Yeah, I mean firstly it was very difficult um you know the last uh five holes of um you know that that last event looking at a leaderboard or not looking at a leaderboard and having to look at your phone to see what you had to do to to stay uh out of relegation was tough," Poulter said.
"I mean, you know, going into Sunday, it was potentially, you know, you know, Lee and I were in a were in a tricky spot, and obviously Henrik um was up the leaderboard. So, unfortunately for him, it was it was difficult. I saw him a couple of nights ago at my birthday. Uh he looked he looked in good spirits. He looks to be doing well."
Poulter added that he was not sure what role Stenson, a former co-captain of the team, would continue to play around Majestics going forward.
"Um I don't know what his plans are obviously moving forward. Uh how much involvement he's going to have with the team, but obviously, you know, Lee and I are still still firmly, you know, captain and very proud to push this team forward."
With the Majestics roster rebuilt around Westwood, Poulter, Sam Horsfield and new signing Laurie Canter, the team has reinvented itself as an all-British outfit under a fresh Union Jack rebrand. Poulter is clearly comfortable with the structural changes that made those decisions necessary, but he was honest about the stakes in 2026.
"So, uh I don't want to be in that relegation position come come the end of August. And obviously, you know, um unfortunately there will be a few guys and uh I don't want to be one of them."
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*Originally published on [Golf News](https://golfnews.global/article/ian-poulter-liv-relegation-20-percent-stenson). Visit for full coverage.*
