LIV Golf has stopped shopping at the top of the market and started investing in the future. With young guns like Australia’s Elvis Smylie, Michael La Sasso and Tom McKibbin signing early, the league is no longer just buying stars – it’s trying to build them.
Michael La Sasso [Above] bounces up the stairs, right hand extended, face beaming. With all the confidence (yet politeness) in the world, he offers a cheery, “Hi, I’m Michael.” It’s two days before LIV Golf Adelaide tees off and if first encounters mean anything, the 21-year-old from North Carolina nails this particular opening drive.
We’re meeting in the vacant grandstand behind the practice fairway at the Grange Golf Club on a day when several of LIV’s brightest young stars are aligned for Australian Golf Digest to interview. There’s been a concerted recruitment effort to attract emerging talent to the league, catching players on the rise in a shift away from the ‘early retirement home’ that characterised many of the initial signings. Players like La Sasso, fellow American Caleb Surratt (22), Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin (23), Spain’s Josele Ballester (22) and Luis Masaveu (23), plus our own Elvis Smylie (24 this month) represent a distinct youth brigade on LIV.
Yet more than simply a bit of age-specific padding of the 57-player roster, these kids can play. David Puig, who won the Australian PGA Championship last November in such impressive fashion, is, at 24, almost a ‘veteran’ among this set. The Spaniard is part of the Fireballs GC team that also includes Ballester and Masaveu, along with wily veteran Sergio Garcia. Puig is now the second-oldest on his team but was considered the equivalent of La Sasso when he joined LIV at age 20 in 2022, skipping his final year at Arizona State University to make the leap. It’s a position that allows him to see both sides.
“I was the youngest a few years back and now there’s a bunch of guys younger than me,” Puig says. “It just feels good to see the future generation, in a way. We’re all doing pretty good and I’m looking forward to seeing more youngsters win.”
LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil describes the league’s blend of established names and rising stars as being like a “super-sized mentorship program”. The opportunities to learn close-up are immense, he says.
“If a kid was 23 years old and he wanted to turn pro, I would say, ‘Playing next to Jon Rahm might be a pretty good idea,’” O’Neil told Australian Golf Digest in Adelaide. “Learning how he and Tyrrell [Hatton, Rahm’s teammate on LIV Golf’s Legion XIII] prepare for an event, how they practise, how they take care of their bodies, what they eat, how they sleep, how they travel – this is like a super-sized mentorship program. And that’s why one of the reasons I see a Caleb Surratt at 21 years old come in and… competing in real big events inside and outside LIV.
“The group that makes me smile most is Josele Ballester, McKibbin, Surratt, La Sasso, Elvis, David Puig,” O’Neil adds. “You think, Man oh man, these 20-somethings are special. But they’re not here just to participate. They want to win and they want to win now, and they believe they should win now. I like that.
“Every one of our young guys walks with tremendous confidence. They believe that they are on a stage that they have earned and deserve, and they’re ready to compete and win. And Elvis was the first one to show it.
“That is the future of LIV Golf. We have to get younger and deeper quickly.”
CLEARANCE TO LAUNCH
It’s the evening before LIV Golf Adelaide begins and Smylie joins his fellow Ripper GC teammates, plus Dustin Johnson and O’Neil in a Q&A session for tournament invitees moderated by Rachel Drummond from the LIV broadcast team. Jokes flow – many at Smylie’s expense – across the podium. He takes each jibe in his stride, exhibiting poise and a quiet comfort that’s difficult not to notice. Cameron Smith might have mentored Smylie to a degree from a developmental perspective via his scholarship program, but it’s Adam Scott who Smylie more closely resembles for oozing class, calmness and a cool demeanour.
In many senses, Smylie has built the ultimate launch pad for a tour career. The son of professional sportspeople; an amateur career nurtured by the right people and programs; an early setback in his pro career; a difficult, yet fruitful decision to switch swing coaches; then a career-altering victory that opened new doors. And now, an immediate impact on LIV along with instant financial security. All before his 24th birthday.
“It hasn’t taken just me to get here,” Smylie told the media in Adelaide. “I’ve mentioned this several times, but it does take a good team of people around you. I’m very fortunate to have those people. That all starts with my parents. They know what it’s like playing professional sport at a high level and achieving great things. Having them be with me every step of the way has been really special.
“That experience last year in Europe really served me in great stead,” he continued. “I felt like I really became a worldly golfer. You’re always competing in different environments and conditions, and that’s something that I’ve really thrived on, and I’m really looking forward to this year. You’re travelling around so many different countries and climates, and doing it with these guys (his Ripper GC teammates) is going to be really special.”
Winning his debut start at LIV Golf Riyadh – with the imposing figure of Rahm giving chase – followed this ideal launch-pad vein. Smylie was poised and precise, flagging iron shots and making every putt he looked as the finish line drew nearer. Yet when Rahm birdied the 72nd hole, Smylie’s cushion was only a shot as he played the same par 4. A weak iron shot was his only miscue of the final nine holes and left him with an uncomfortably long two-putt for victory, one he managed with aplomb.
“The one thing that I’ve appreciated that I continued to see throughout last week (LIV Golf Riyadh) is I felt like I’ve gained the respect of each player on the tour… Going into a new environment, you don’t really know what to expect, so you want to feel like you’re well-respected by your competitors, and that’s something that meant a lot to me.”
HUNGRY FOR MORE
La Sasso sits inside Joe’s, an intimate beachside café in the suburb of Henley Beach, the morning of the first round of LIV Golf Adelaide, joined by his fellow HyFlyers GC teammates and managers. It has become the team’s go-to breakfast destination during LIV Adelaide weeks, when there is no such thing as a 7am tee-time. In between conversations and mouthfuls, La Sasso does what 21-year-olds do – he checks Snapchat messages and Instagram reels on his phone.
Like Puig, Surratt and Ballester, LIV’s youngest player is another to make his professional debut at a LIV Golf tournament, doing so in Riyadh in early February. The reigning NCAA individual champion forfeited his invitation to this month’s Masters when he joined the paid ranks, which raised a few eyebrows. However, La Sasso and his team saw more currency than just one week.
“I’m incredibly excited to join HyFlyers GC and take this next step in my career,” La Sasso said in January when his addition to LIV became public knowledge. “It’s a rare opportunity to learn from one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and I don’t take that lightly. LIV Golf allows me to compete at the highest level on a global stage, and I thrive in a team environment, especially one with the camaraderie and support that defines HyFlyers GC. My focus is on learning, continuing to improve and doing everything I can to help our team succeed.”
The “greatest player” La Sasso referred to, HyFlyers captain Phil Mickelson, was predictably enthusiastic about his new charge. “Michael is one of the most exciting young players in the game today, bringing a competitive fire that’s evident every time he tees it up,” Mickelson said. “He combines tremendous power and speed with an exceptional feel for the game. Beyond his talent, his personality, work ethic and commitment to being a great teammate make him a terrific addition to HyFlyers GC. We’re excited to support his development, accelerate his learning curve and help him achieve his goals – while he, in turn, makes our team even stronger.”
La Sasso is part of the modern wave of players ‘doing it their own way’ in more aspects than one. His swing features a sizeable head dip – think Joaquin Niemann’s move, only more pronounced – and is anything but textbook. Yet the same could be said of world No.1 Scottie Scheffler, and several other top players.
La Sasso finished T-41 on debut at LIV Golf Riyadh and backed that up with a closing 66 to finish T-32 behind Anthony Kim in Adelaide. Hardly electrifying results, but it’s early days and he has time on his side.
“Just learning, developing,” La Sasso told Australian Golf Digest in Adelaide when asked what a successful first season on LIV would look like. “A lot of people I’ve talked to, when they first come out they want to be a world-beater in their first year. For me, I’d really like to learn and try to develop as much as I can. We’re playing the long game, so the more I can learn in my first year and really take away everything I can, I’m going to be as grateful as I can [for that] and just try to get experience under my belt.”
Coming via the American college system, where the team element is a constant, La Sasso recognises LIV’s kinship, especially among his younger peers. “It feels like one big family out here. It definitely feels like we’re a part of one big team,” La Sasso says of his fellow early-20-somethings. “Being able to talk with them, and be with them every week, it’s definitely good.
“I talked with Scott O’Neil last week, and he said that’s where a lot of the success is going to come from – the younger guys boosting each other and having a very good relationship with each other and picking themselves up. So the fact that I’m a part of that little family is very good.”
Fuelling the hopes of La Sasso and LIV’s other young players is Smylie’s fast start to the 2026 season. It’s a rising tide that can lift all boats.
“Seeing Elvis win, it’s definitely very cool,” La Sasso said. “The fact that everybody is given the same opportunity to come out here and play, the fact that he was able to win and capitalise off that shows that all of us are ready to come and compete, even though we’re a little bit younger. There’s definitely some fire to us, and so knowing that definitely puts a fire under me – knowing that if other people are able to do it, I’m very capable of it as well.”
GOING GLOBAL
McKibbin entered LIV Golf’s ranks under considerable pressure. He’s a product of Holywood Golf Club in Northern Ireland, the same club where Rory McIlroy learned the game, so naturally a mentor-and-mentee dynamic formed between the two. McIlroy was vocal in sharing his displeasure with McKibbin’s decision to join LIV, yet ultimately let his countryman choose his own destiny.
“I have known Tom since he was 10 years old, 11 years old, and as soon as he got the offer, he rang me,” McIlroy said at the time. “I’d just landed in New Zealand. We had a really good conversation and I talked to him multiple times over the course of December [2024] to sort of get a feel for what he was thinking, and basically what he was going to do. And all I could do is give my perspective.
“I really like Tom as a person, as a player. I think he’s got a ton of potential. Look, I said to him, ‘If I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you’re thinking of making.’ I think working so hard to get your [PGA] Tour card in the States – something that he did – to achieve that goal… was a big achievement.”
Ultimately McKibbin chose LIV, starting with Rahm’s Legion XIII team from the beginning of the 2025 season. He finished in the top-10 four times with a best result of T-4 in the league’s visit to Spain last July.
McKibbin is a prime example of how LIV’s alignment with the Asian Tour coupled with the softening of the DP World Tour’s stance on LIV members competing there provides them with ample windows to contest more than just LIV’s 14 events. Globetrotting warmed his competitive juices sufficiently enough to see McKibbin finish fourth at the European circuit’s Spanish Open last October then win the Asian Tour’s Hong Kong Open three weeks later.
Still, LIV is where McKibbin’s focus lies and he too feels a sense of togetherness among the league’s greenest players. “There’s a good camaraderie around a lot of the younger guys,” he says. “Some of the guys I knew before coming here, some I haven’t, so trying to get to know everybody.
“[LIV is] obviously trying to get that blend between both [old and young]. Seeing over the past year or so a lot more younger guys joining. I think it’s good for us, good for the league and hopefully we can keep going on developing that young talent.”
Old and young, experienced and new, seasoned and developing. The ever-evolving face of LIV Golf wears many hats, all of which make for absorbing viewing.
