The third full season of the LIV Tour will begin next week in Saudi Arabia and it’s fair to say that there is plenty of excitement brewing. Having landed a major TV deal with Fox which will challenge the PGA Tour’s vice-like grip on the television ratings, several teams have announced partnerships with corporate sponsors and for the first time it really feels that LIV is close to making a breakthrough to the sporting mainstream.
Ahead of what could be the best LIV season yet, here are some of the storylines to keep an eye on this year.
Rahm looks to become first LIV player to win back to back individual championships
Although there were many who were puzzled and fearful of how Jon Rahm would play when joining the LIV ranks, the 400 million dollar man certainly delivered when romping to individual success last year.
Despite having to make the adjustment from the four rounds of the PGA Tour to the quicker shotgun format that LIV provides, Rahm was hugely consistent last season finishing inside the top ten of every event he played and completed.
Twice a winner last year, with victories in the UK and at the season finale in Chicago, the Spainiard will start this year as the undoubted favourite for success and he will want to become the first man in LIV history to win back to back individual championships.
Worryingly for the rest of his competitors, in comparison to the end of his season, Rahm started 2024 reasonably slowly and was still able to win the individual crown fairly easily. Now comfortable in his surroundings, Rahm will want to set the pace and it will be up to his rivals to try and stop him.
Big names will hope to come to the fore and slow the Spainiard down
Whilst it may be Rahm that leads the way when it comes to the overall betting, LIV has several other big hitters who will have serious hopes of rising to the occasion and deny Rahm the back to back individual titles he craves.
Brooks Koepka is one man who will want to muscle his way in on the action. A five time major winner, it’s no secret that Koepka very much prioritises and focus on the majors, but having gone a year without really featuring in the games biggest tournaments, the American will want to bounce back in 2025.
Koepka was up and down in 2024 but he finished the year well and was about to squeeze past Rahm in a classic at the LIV Greenbrier event. With five total victories, nobody in the LIV ranks has won as much as Koepka and he will hope to use all of that winning experience to good use as he seeks out a first LIV individual title.
Although Rahm and Koepka may be the jewels in the LIV crown when it comes to victories on the course, it can be heavily argued that Bryson DeChambeau is the face of the Tour.
Having gone from one of golf’s villain to one of its heroes, DeChambeau has used his time on the LIV Tour to become a major force for good and his allegiance to the LIV Tour is massive for all of those connected to the Saudi funded enterprise.
Arguably the biggest star in the game thanks to his hugely popular YouTube channel, DeChambeau had a great year last year by winning the U.S Open, but in a LIV setting he would ultimately end up being frustrated.
Unable to win a title, DeChambeau would finish comfortably behind Rahm in the quest for individual glory and whilst he would have been delighted to have won a second major title, he will be desperate to be a player in the race for individual honours this time around.
Another man without a title last year was Cam Smith. The former Open Champion, Smith joined the LIV Tour with a reputation as one of the best players in the game but he would have been disappointed last season that he wasn’t closer in the final standings to Rahm.
Like Koepka, Smith knows what he needs to do to win tournaments on the LIV Tour and in his two years since joining the organisation he has three titles to look back on. He wasn’t able to add to that list last season but the Australian will be hoping to bounce back in 2025.
Young guns will hope to announce themselves on the world stage
Although LIV will continue to have its detractors, it can’t be argued that the Tour hosts several of the best young players in the game.
Leading the youth movement last year was Joaquin Niemann. Niemann’s loss to the PGA Tour was evident as it was rumoured that several of the PGA Tour’s best players made a real effort to keep the talented Chilean around.
Having settled quickly into his new surroundings, Niemann was one of LIV’s most consistent players last year and finished second in the overall standings. Needing to finish ahead of Rahm in the final event in Chicago, the Chilean couldn’t do anything to deny Rahm but will hope to go one place better this time around.
Whilst this has been a much slower season when it comes to attracting some of the best talent from the PGA Tour, LIV have been able to bolster their ranks with the acquisitions of one of the hottest commodities in European golf in the shape of Tom McKibbin.
At just 22, the Northern Irishman has long been tipped for the very top of the game and that is evident by the fact that he qualified for the PGA Tour for the first time last season. However with an offer to join Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII squad, McKibbin was tempted enough to join Rahm and co and will tee it up at LIV’s opener in Saudi Arabia.
Tipped for winning the game’s biggest tournaments McKibbin could well be one of the surprise contenders to emerge this season and will be hopeful of landing a title in his debut season.
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.
