About to embark on its third full season, many who believed that the breakaway formation of LIV was set to be a short lived enterprise have been made to eat their words, but it’s fair to say that despite many of the harshest critics of LIV being made to eat their words, huge questions over the future of the Tour remain.
As LIV heads into arguably its most crucial of seasons, here are some of the key questions currently surrounding the Tour.
Does a lack of new names suggest that the golden days of LIV are over?
When LIV burst onto the golfing scene the defections away from the PGA Tour to join the Saudi funded league were happening on an almost daily basis.
With the lure of millions, a new way of playing the game and a lighter schedule, PGA Tour titans such as Cam Smith, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau all upped sticks and decided to make LIV their permanent home. With many affiliated to the PGA Tour expecting more defections, that narrative was only ramped up further by the blockbuster acquisition of Jon Rahm.
One of the PGA Tour’s most popular players and one of the faces of the Tour, when Rahm was acquired there were huge fears that other stars would follow. However since Rahm’s decision to leave, the PGA Tour decided to change things up and the introduction of lucrative signature events seem to have stopped anybody new from leaving.
This offseason would mark the first time that LIV has been unable to bolster their ranks with fresh PGA recruits and it could be a sign that the ability to earn comparatively as much as their LIV rivals, compete for some of the oldest and historic tournaments and earn ranking points is too much of a draw to want to up sticks and move.
LIV dreams of having the very best players in the world compete under its umbrella, but as it stands unless hundreds of millions are offered it looks to be much more difficult to steal people away from the PGA Tour.
Older names need to refind magic
One of the major criticisms of the LIV Tour when it first launched was that it offered a golden envelope to those players whose best days were behind him. Upon the names to join in the first round of defections, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Ian Poulter, Bubba Watson and Sergio Garcia’s major winning days were all likely behind them.
Quick to join were Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson and although Garcia has competed well and Stenson won his first ever LIV event, it’s fair to say that none of the more established names have performed particularly well and that is a problem.
The drop off between the elite of the LIV Tour and the rest is too big and the elder statesmen need to find more and step up. Despite the PGA Tour losing some of its key men, last year saw a string of new first time winners and that is something that is clearly lacking in the LIV arena presently.
If the LIV product is to stay relevant and help move the needle it needs its more veteran players to start producing.
Golf but louder is slowly coming to fruition
When LIV was launched it was promised to be golf but louder, after a slow start it’s fair to say that promise is slowly coming to life.
The Adelaide event that it holds can sell out in minutes and the atmosphere surrounding each and every hole is simply magnificent. Able to attract a new legion of fans, the Adelaide event shows what the future of the game looks like and you would have to be a real cynic not to be impressed.
The UK event held at the JCB course just after the Open was also another rip roaring success and events held in Chicago and Nashville were also well attended.
There were some disappointments, golf in Saudi Arabia across any Tour is still struggling to make an impression and the empty spaces around the Singapore and Hong Kong events were also noticeable. LIV has a mission to try and take the game around the world, however if it still struggles in certain pockets of the schedule it might want to rethink its future locations.
Could more be done with the Team element?
The unique element of LIV is undoubtedly its Team event. The hope was that each of the teams would become its own unique franchise, similar to what has happened in cricket with the IPL.
It’s fair to say that through the first two seasons of the full schedule the team event is yet to move the needle as LIV executives would have liked, however there are signs that the team element is slowly bursting into life.
Bryson DeChambeau and his Crushers team have been one of the first franchises to make new ground, with the team having signed a multi million dollar deal with clothing giants Reebok. Rumours continue to persist that Brooks Koepka and his franchise Smash GC could align with Nike and Majesticks have released a new documentary that provides its fans with an access all areas to what life on the LIV Tour is usually like.
The team environment still seems to have just scratched the surface in terms of what it could become. If more funding is put behind them and the team element takes more of a centre stage it could be the one element that helps move the needle and finally secures the major TV network deal that it so desperately craves.
Is a merger with the PGA Tour going to happen?
Despite players being able to play across both the PGA and LIV tours, the divided nature of men’s professional golf certainly isn’t helping when it comes to the games headlines or overall popularity.
For years there have been reports that a merger between the two tours is going to happen, but nothing is close to being locked off and agreed.
There were eyebrows raised when news emerged that LIV architect and the face of the Tour, Greg Norman was to be replaced as CEO. Norman’s impending departure could be good news for those wanting an agreement to be found between the two warring factions.
With Norman seen as a major blocker as to an agreement taking place, his departure could accelerate a peace between golf’s two main entities. What the future of LIV looks like if an agreement is reached remains very much up in the air, but if a deal can be met, the game should be in safer hands as it tries to move forward.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
