Two more PGA Tour members and one of the best players on the DP World Tour are joining the LIV Golf League, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
DP World Tour star Thomas Pieters, ranked No. 34 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and past PGA Tour winners Danny Lee and Brendan Steele have signed up to join the LIV Golf League, which begins its second season in Mexico next week.
LIV Golf is expected to announce their additions when four more team rosters are unveiled Monday. Earlier this week, LIV Golf officially announced that PGA Tour members Mito Pereira and Sebastian Munoz were moving over.
Pieters, from Belgium, is the highest-ranked player among the newest additions. He has six international victories, including the 2021 Portugal Masters and 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He played for Europe in the 2016 Ryder Cup and tied for 16th in the men’s golf competition at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
While playing at the University of Illinois, Pieters won the 2012 NCAA individual championship at Riviera Country Club. Pieters, 31, expressed frustration on Twitter about not being invited to play in this week’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera.
Sad to miss my favorite tournament of the year. Because well as #34 in world, I just couldn’t get in @PGATOUR. 🤷🏻♂️ #GenesisInvitational
— Thomas Pieters (@Thomas_Pieters) February 15, 2023
Pieters has made 49 starts on the PGA Tour but is not a member of the tour. Last season, Pieters tied for 27th at the U.S. Open and tied for 28th at The Open.
His decision to join the LIV Golf Tour was first reported by handicap54.golf.
Steele, 39, has three PGA Tour victories: the 2011 Valero Texas Open and the Safeway Open in 2016 and 2017. Steele, ranked 122nd in the world, has earned more than $20 million in 297 career starts on tour. He made nine starts this season, including a tie for 18th at the CJ Cup in South Carolina in October and a tie for 20th at the Farmers Insurance Open last month.
Steele was scheduled to play in the Genesis Invitational this week but withdrew on Tuesday for undisclosed reasons.
Lee, from New Zealand, won once during his PGA Tour career, capturing the 2015 Greenbrier Classic in a four-man playoff. Lee, ranked 259th in the world, made 303 starts on tour and collected more than $15 million in earnings. He made 11 starts this season, including a tie for 16th at the American Express last month.
Lee, 32, played in the Genesis Invitational this week and missed the cut with a 36-hole total of 3-over.