LIV Golf have announced a change to their rulebook for the 2025 season, impacting the team scoring in their opening event in Riyadh this week. The breakaway league returns after almost five months away, with the first tournament of the campaign getting underway in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. A number of changes have been made for the season opener at Riyadh Golf Club, including the opening round being played at night.

The host course will turn on the floodlights for day one of play, with the likes of Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm teeing off their opening rounds at 6:15 p.m. local time. As well as this, LIV bosses have made a change to the team standings too. In an announcement on Wednesday, just a day before the first round in Saudi Arabia, the breakaway circuit confirmed that all four scores will contribute to a team tally throughout the three rounds.

Previously, the best three scores were taken from the first two rounds, with all four then counting across the final 18 holes. It will no doubt add pressure to those competing, with the reliability of their teammates more prominent than ever with the format change. "For the first time, all four scores count in each round for every team," LIV confirmed in a statement. "In 2024, only the final round counted all four scores, with just the top three scores counting for each of the first two rounds.

For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US. "The scoring adjustment for 2025 will increase the drama and volatility on the team leaderboard throughout the three tournament days, putting added pressure on every player to contribute a low score (or at least avoid the really high ones) for their teams.". The change has been welcomed by the league's defending individual champion and Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm. "I like it. I like it. I think it benefits a team like ours," Rahm said on Wednesday. "I think we have four really strong players that are really consistent.

"So I think it's better for the league in general for everybody to matter every single day becauseSunday is usually really, really fun. At least last year it was incredibly fun in that regard.But I think it's better for the teams and the players' development, as well, for every round to count. I'm very much in favour of it.". His teammate Tyrrell Hatton was in agreement, as the Englishman added: "I think we saw last year even onSunday how quickly the leaderboards can change. Having that from round 1 certainly brings a little bit more interest there earlier in the week. But yeah, like Jon said, I think we're a pretty consistent team, and hopefully this move kind of benefits us over the course of the year.".