Si Woo Kim puts LIV rumors to rest and commits to the PGA Tour’s Sony Open

One of the rumored targets LIV Golf has committed to the PGA Tour – at least for now.

On Friday afternoon, Si Woo Kim announced he would compete in the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in January, ending a week of rumors that put the 47th-ranked player in the world in LIV’s crosshairs.

“Alright guys, see you in @sonyopenhawaii,” Kim posted on Instagram on Friday afternoon, seemingly committing to the event he won in 2023 and reaffirming his desire to remain on the PGA Tour at least through early 2026. Kim’s agent did not respond to GOLF.com’s request for clarification or comment on his PGA Tour status after the Hawaii event in January.

According to reports from the Flushing it fan account and Alex Perry from Today’s golferLIV had targeted Kim as a key part of its offseason acquisition efforts. Kim’s reported endeavor overlaps with the growth strategy LIV CEO Scott O’Neil outlined in a recent interview with GOLF.com. In the interview, O’Neil pointed to LIV’s international growth as the main goal for the future, and mentioned Korea as one of the league’s key markets.

Earlier this week, unsubstantiated reports placed Kim in “late-stage negotiations” to join LIV along with fellow Korean pro Sungjae Im. I quickly dismissed the reports as false, while “an official” close to Kim was quoted in a Korean newspaper reaffirming his commitment to the PGA Tour.

“It is true that Kim Si-woo, like many Korean players, has been recruited,” the official said Maeil business newspaper on Thursday. “However, Kim Si-woo ultimately indicated his intention to decline and decided to remain on the PGA Tour.”

While Kim’s Instagram post appears to tie him to the PGA Tour in the future, his commitment to the Sony Open doesn’t completely eliminate the possibility of a late move to LIV. The Sony Open will be played two weeks before the first LIV event of the 2026 season in Riyadh, theoretically leaving time for a change of heart.

Earlier this year, LIV Golf applied to trademark a series of new team names, including ‘Becko East GC’. Becko, or the more formal spelling Baekhois the Korean word for ‘white tiger’, a popular symbol in Korean mythology.

Kim, a 30-year-old professional from South Korea, is said to have represented a coup for LIV in terms of international growth, making the league perhaps the most commercially successful Korean golfer of the past decade. With the PGA Tour, Kim has become a key part of the international contingent, winning four times and appearing in three Presidents Cups for the international team.

So far, LIV has added two players with PGA Tour status for the 2026 season: Victor Perez and Laurie Canter – although the league’s efforts to attract PGA Tour talent may not yet be complete. LIV has until February 4 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to complete the 2026 selections.