Why LIV Golf Isn’t Exciting
LIV’s opening event flops out despite the promise of big things.
It has been a dramatic last few months to be a fan of professional golf. There were seemingly never-ending storylines of potential players leaving their respective tours to join the LIV Golf tour.
When were we going to hear from Phil Mickelson again?
Is the Saudi-financed LIV tour good for golf?
How much guaranteed money is there to be made?
These questions are only a small number that have been asked in a whirlwind year that will forever change the landscape of professional golf.
Everything started back on February 17 when author Alan Shipnuck published a conversation he had with Phil Mickelson for his upcoming unauthorized biography. In it, Mickelson admits to willingly working with the Saudis on the new tour despite their atrocious record on human rights, including the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The backlash made front-page headlines around the world for days to come. Storylines emerged that seemed to be out of the WWE or one of those awful reality shows on network television where by the end, you’re rooting for everyone to lose.
Finally, this past weekend, the first LIV event at the Centurion Club outside of London was held. The field consisted of mostly fledgling and washed-up tour professionals with only a few current notables in the Top 50 mixed in. All 48 players were guaranteed appearance fees in a three-round, no-cut event that included the largest purse in the history of golf. There was a promise of excitement with a combined team and individual format.
Like the loyal golf devotee that I am, the YouTube stream was open and ready as the shotgun start commenced this past Friday morning. From start to finish, I came away not only unimpressed with the product but also with the lack of excitement generated on-screen over those three days.
As the full field was about halfway through the first round on Thursday, there was an unusual lack of urgency on the golf course from players that started the day poorly. In regular PGA Tour events, the cut looms large being only one day away. A poor start in the first round puts you squarely behind the eight ball. Missing the cut means missing a payday, no FedEx Cup points, and a guaranteed chance to not be watched by millions on the weekend.
There was a clear level of indifference shown on the course this day. I watched players take on par 5s in two shots that they had no business going for. There were more golfers short-sided on par fours than there should have been. Scoring was abysmal by any tour standards. Only eight players were under par in the first round and the same at the end on Saturday as well.
No-cut events usually lack excitement because of the guaranteed payday but at WGCs, the play remains high because the best golfers in the world are gathered to play. The biggest purse in golf history was being fought over by pros nobody has heard of or seen in contention for years.
Play continued into the final round on Saturday and there was absolutely no excitement down the stretch. As the trio of South Africans battled to see who would come out on top, I realized it didn’t matter much except to their own bank accounts.
This wasn’t going to be a life-changing win. We wouldn’t see a child run out to greet dad after the final putt was holed. There would be no emotion-laden interview on the green amidst the realization of winning on tour after all the hours of hard work. There weren’t guys like J.J. Spaun, Luke List, and Ryan Brehm who finally broke through for the first time after years of trying to hang on. There were no players returning to the winner’s circle again like Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, and Billy Horschel who espoused the meaning of winning again and the fire that still burns inside after the years of success they have already had.
This is one of the reasons golf is compelling on the back nine on Sundays. It’s extremely hard to not only win but keep your card on the PGA Tour. It’s riveting television knowing a missed shot here or a holed putt there can alter careers for players who have dedicated their lives to this profession.
Andy Ogletree opened with a 12-over 82 and closed a whopping 24-over par placing him dead last in 48th place. Normally, that’s a buried footnote of a Friday trunk slammer, in dire need of finding something to turn his season around in a hurry. This past week that performance was good for a $120,000 payday alongside whatever show money he was promised just for being there. No need to worry about keeping your card or even figuring out where to play next. This isn’t a knock on Ogletree by any means. I’ve followed him since he won the U.S. Amateur in 2019 and he seems like a quality player with a lot of upside. He had a bad week. It happens.
My issue is that as golf fans, we get to go along for the ride as guys endure the trials and tribulations of the Tour. Winning or consistently finishing near the top of leaderboards is the only recipe for staying on the tour. The way the LIV tour is set up will not allow these fun and exciting stories to take place.
All of the built-up drama over the last few months turned into three rounds of mediocre golf that rewarded a former major winner, Charl Schwartzel, with the biggest check that’s ever been won in the history of the sport. As he sprayed the nearby gallery with champagne, I reflected on the last three days of golf I witnessed. I never got the thrill of excitement watching the early rounds progress into a cut of over half the field. There weren’t any storylines that drew me in as the weekend unfolded. I didn’t care who played well. I didn’t even care who eventually won. There were times I even forgot a team competition was happening.
For a fervent golf fan like myself to not get anything out of a tournament says a lot about the product. No matter how much money that’s handed out, if fans can’t get excited, then the tour has failed.
At the end of the day, does LIV Golf care about showing an exciting product? Is there a lot more at play in the geopolitical world that I don’t understand? I don’t know the answers to those questions but I won’t stand for a poor product from the sport that I love the most.
Just a few clicks away I watched Rory McIlroy drive towards his 21st victory on the PGA Tour. There were plenty of storylines and plenty of excitement. Going forward, that’s where I will be.
