The Impact of LIV Golf

Although Most Are Against It, I Believe That LIV Golf Has Helped The Professional Golf World

T. M. Kennedy

LIV GOLF, A MAJOR DISCUSSION IN TODAY’S MODERN GOLF WORLD, started by the Saudi PIF fund and run by Greg Norman and his team, has caused quite a stir in the last 18 months. The new rival tour in town, have ridiculous purses for players that some consider “old and washed up”. Just this past month, OWGR (Official World Golf Ranking) announced that LIV golf will not be able to get players points, which means that players might not be able to qualify for major championships for 2024. Now the PGA and LIV have merged in the last four months and the future looks bright for professional golf with large amounts of money on offer but in this article we are going to break down the good, bad and what could have been for LIV golf. 

Now let’s start out with the good parts of LIV golf and the impact it has had on worldwide professional golf. One of the biggest impacts it has had on the sport, would be the increase in prize money throughout the whole sport. A lot of players are tempted to go to LIV golf from the PGA tour due to the money. With the absurd amounts of money in the PIF fund, the PGA tour has been able to increase tournament prize money exponentially in the last two years in order to compete with the LIV golf tours. 

Another good part of the new rival tour has been showcasing golf in a lot of other parts of the world such as Australia (when LIV came to Adelaide), which has increased viewership of golf in general. Other good parts since the creation of LIV include the entertainment factor of the golf before and after the round which LIV have tried to bring a different type of crowd. 

Now let’s start with the bad. Firstly: sportswashing. Now not to go into much detail due to an article already covering this topic, but some argue that Saudi money is taking over the sport and has spread into the PGA tour as well. 

Secondly, another bad part of LIV golf is that there is a huge skill gap between the players which makes the competition quite boring. Just this season, Talor Gooch won three times, Aussie Cam Smith twice with Bryson Dechambeau and Brooks Koepka also winning two times. Although these guys are at the top of the sport and could still be dominating on the PGA tour, the gap between the best and the worst is a light year away.  

Now, what could have been for LIV Golf. I remember when they came out with the team concept it was a huge deal, but in reality – it is not. To try and create some profit for LIV golf, they were going to try to market the teams to buy regular sport teams, which has been a complete and utter failure. Furthermore, the new relegation aspect is quite cool and I think it makes players work a little bit harder in which we have seen our own Aussie Jediah Morgan being relegated. 

Now my subjective view on LIV Golf is that it has been a very good turning point in the future of professional golf and highlights an area that a lot of people did not see and something that the PGA tour needed.