Despite being relegated due to his poor performance in 2024, Branden Grace will be playing for Stinger GC once again in 2025.

Last season, the South African only finished in the top 20 in two of his 14 LIV starts, with his best finish being a T15 early in the season at LIV Jeddah. For the season, Grace finished 51st out of 57 players, including wildcard players.

That put him in the “relegation zone” and he had to play in the LIV Golf Promotions event to try to earn his spot back on LIV.

The promotions event did not go as planned for Grace, but Stinger GC announced Wednesday that Grace would be coming back for 2025 anyway, a move that produced plenty of criticism from golf fans.

Stinger GC released a statement on their decision, with captain Louis Oosthuizen citing a “business case” as the primary reason for bringing the 36-year-old back.

“We’re thrilled to have Branden back with Stinger GC,” Oosthuizen said. “He is an integral part of our team, both on and off the course. While 2024 was a tough year for him, we must not overlook his consistent performances in the two previous seasons. His return was also supported by a strong business case. We are looking to grow the Stinger GC brand and commercial presence in South Africa, and his profile and popularity, in the country, will help us to achieve that."

Oosthuizen also spoke to Golf Monthly, saying they'd known “for a while” that Grace was coming back.

“We knew it for a while, but we had to keep it quiet. It didn’t really make sense to bring anyone else into the team. We wanted Branden back,” Oosthuizen said. “He had an unbelievable first two seasons and last year was fighting a few things, like injury and losing a bit of confidence, which can quickly happen to anyone. But we know the player he is and we wanted no one else really on the team. We were fighting to get him back here.”

Grace, who won the first LIV Golf event played in the U.S. in 2022, said an injury had an impact on his poor performance in 2024.

“I am delighted to be back with Stinger GC. 2024 was a challenging year for me—I was playing with a wrist injury during the early part of the season and struggled to gain any momentum from there. My form improved during the later stages of the campaign and my game is tracking in the right direction. I feel confident that I can carry that through into 2025,” Grace said.

Golf fans, and even LIV supporters, seemed to have an issue with the move, which essentially rendered the relegation system meaningless.

With the move being made official, two of the four players relegated (Grace and the RangeGoats GC captain, Bubba Watson) will be full-time LIV players in 2025.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as LIV Golf Team Defends Criticism Over Bringing Back Relegated Player.

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