Branden Grace leaves LIV Golf and returns full-time to the DP World Tour

Branden Grace is done with LIV Golf. The 38-year-old South African said in a statement Friday, October 23, that he will return full-time to the DP World Tour for the 2026/27 season, which starts in late November. News24 and Golf Monthly both reported the statement.

"Returning to the DP World Tour feels like coming home," Grace said. "Some of the proudest moments of my career have happened on this Tour, from my four-time win breakthrough season in 2012 to winning the South African Open in front of home fans. I am hungrier than ever to compete and write the next chapter of my career on the global stage."

He called his LIV years "a memorable chapter" and said he would keep the friendships he made with his teammates.

Who he is

Grace is a nine-time DP World Tour winner with 15 professional wins worldwide, including two PGA Tour titles, according to News24. In 2017 at Royal Birkdale he became the first man to shoot 62 in a men's major. He signed with LIV for its first season in 2022 and won its Portland event that year. News24 reports he earned more than $38 million on LIV, the most of any South African; Golf Monthly puts him 10th on the league's money list.

News24 says he will play the coming season using his status as a former DP World Tour champion along with his Sunshine Tour rights. He was already back on that tour this week at the Hong Kong Open at Fanling, where he did not wear Southern Guards gear.

What it does to LIV

Grace follows his Southern Guards captain, Louis Oosthuizen, who announced his own exit earlier this week. That leaves Charl Schwartzel and Dean Burmester as the only Southern Guards players left, and neither has said what he will do. Grace's news also came a few hours after Ian Poulter said he would not be part of LIV 2.0, the league's planned relaunch.

LIV chief Scott O'Neil has until October 25 to sign enough players to secure a $300 million investment from BC Partners, Golf Monthly reports. News24 says LIV players face the same date to tell the DP World Tour they want to play its upcoming season.

What to watch

Look for Grace on DP World Tour fields when the 2026/27 season opens in late November. The bigger date is Sunday's October 25 deadline, which should show whether Schwartzel, Burmester and the rest of the undecided LIV players stay for 2.0 or head back to Europe.