Heard the buzz about something called LIV Golf? Not sure what it’s all about?
The LIV Golf Invitationals:
- Brand New Golf Tour (it’s NOT the PGA Tour)
- Players only Play 3 Rounds vs 4 with no cuts (most PGA events remove ½ the players after 2 rounds)
- Shotgun Start (all players are on the course at the same time)
- Fewer Events (8-12) vs the longer PGA Tour Season
- Lots of Fan based activities, including Concerts!
- Big Payouts for the Players – all of them!
What’s the controversy? Well…
- Backed by the Governement Saudi Investment Fund - detractors don’t like that they are not an open society; they have had links to questionable human rights practices, and some link them to US 9/11.
- Payouts are way bigger than the PGA Tour Events.
- Traditionalists don’t like the 3 round; no cut format.
LIV Golf is positioning itself as a more modern alternative to the PGA Tour, which has been the highest level of professional golf since the late 60s. Yes! The current PGA Tour was only established in the late 1960s after Arnie and Jack (and many others) complained that they weren’t getting enough of the payout! Sound familiar? But the PGA Tour and the DP World (Formerly the European Tour) aren’t happy as it’s taking away players, sponsors and attention from their tours.
Big Questions:
- World Ranking Points (OWGR) - This 100% looks like it's going to a court case
- Participation in the Majors - So far, yes!
Fun Fact: LIV is the roman numeral for 54; also the number of holes played at a LIV Golf tournament.
Many big-time names have moved over so far - heard of any of these players: Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Gracia, Louis Oosthuizen, Bryson DeChambeau, or Henrik Stenson? And Asian Tour players have been participating as well! Who’s next?
Where can you watch it? In India, tournaments are live streamed on YouTube and LIVGolf.com.
We hope this was helpful! And stay tuned for more news on this highly talked about new Golf league.
