It has been a quiet two-and-a-half months since the LIV Golf season came to an end at the Team Championship in Dallas.
However, the first domino has fallen in what could be a busy couple of weeks heading into the fourth season of LIV Golf.
Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces announced Monday it had acquired Thomas Pieters via trade from Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC, the first trade of the offseason. The 4Aces didn’t send a player back in return, as Sports Illustrated’s Matt Vincenzi reported, and the expectation is the 4Aces will not re-sign Pat Perez, whose contract expires Jan. 1, 2025.
Pieters, whose LIV Golf contract runs through 2025, finished 30th in the individual season standings in 2024. He scored four points for Europe in the 2016 Ryder Cup. Players who finished Nos. 25-48 were subject to being traded or dropped from their current teams to become free agents.
He joins a 4Aces team that won the inaugural LIV Golf Team Championship in 2022 but finished 10th in the regular season in 2024. The 4Aces did finish tied for second at the Team Championship.
Last year, the 4Aces and RangeGoats GC also traded players in the offseason, with Harold Varner III joining Johnson’s team in exchange for Peter Uihlein.
What’s next?
RangeGoats GC could go numerous ways in filling its roster spot. Watson could sign a player in the Open Zone who isn’t returning to their former team. The team could also sign someone from outside the league. Watson himself was also relegated from the league after the season, so the RanegGoats could have two new players come 2025.
Rumors have swirled in recent weeks about possibly LIV Golf signings this offseason. The Pieters’ trade could be the first in a chain reaction of offseason movement for the league, but only time will tell.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: First LIV Golf offseason domino falls as Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces trades for former European Ryder Cup team member
