What is the current state of golf, post the PGA / LIV split?
Divorce can wreck everything in its path. I’ve seen it firsthand. No, not that split; that one was fine.
I’m talking about sports divorces, like the one in 1996 that effectively destroyed IndyCar racing. Tony George at that time owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500. Traditionally held the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” was actually a bigger deal than the Daytona 500.
IndyCar wanted to incorporate more road course events; George thought the focus should be on oval tracks. So he launched his own rival league in 1996, the Indy Racing League (IRL), which would only race on ovals and would feature the Indy 500. His new league was riddled with problems, while the best drivers and cars remained in the IndyCar, including Mario Andretti, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya. But they were locked out of the Indy 500, the only race most of us cared about.
FOUR YEARS AFTER LIV/PGA SPLIT, only one set of players remains in the spotlight.
Twelve years later they finally reunited, but the damage was done. During those years NASCAR skyrocketed in popularity, and the IndyCar racing split became too confusing for fans to follow.
A similar divorce has been playing out in professional golf. You could say playing the role of Tony George in the golf split was Greg Norman, a legend of the game who in retirement had become increasingly ostracized by the PGA tour. For years he sought to start his own tour that would play internationally, funded by an extremely wealthy individual.
Norman finally got his wish in 2021, spearheading the launch of LIV (the Roman numeral 54, as in 54 holes, three rounds of 18 holes or birdie at all holes), to rival the PGA. Their tournaments would play internationally, backed by the deepest pockets of all, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF). The first big name player to join LIV was six-time major winner Phil Mickelson. Why would Mickelson leave the PGA Tour? Who knows; maybe he was tired of always being Robin to Tiger Woods’ Batman. Or, known to have a significant appetite for gambling, perhaps it was LIV’s $200 million offer to Mickelson to join, regardless of how he performed—a staggering number considering PGA players are guaranteed zero dollars; their winnings are entirely dependent on performance.
This would be LIV’s model; they’d buy players with staggering nine-figure commitments, lining players’ pockets for generations before they even took a shot.
LIV also did some other goofy stuff, like shortening tournaments to three days, eliminating cuts and letting the players wear shorts. They also played in a team format. Loud music played and their tournaments resembled Lollapalooza more than a golf event.
Initially the players that went to LIV were guys with either past PGA disciplinary issues or who were about five minutes past their prime. But then LIV got guys like Brooks Koepka, Bryson Dechambeau and Cam Smith—major winners well within their prime.
The LIV vs. PGA split turned into a war. Stalwarts like Tiger and Rory McElroy joined forces to lead the PGA and certain changes were slowly adapted, including richer purses and more guarantees for players.
The fans were the losers in all of this. Instead of watching the best players in the world compete, we saw only some compete—the PGA with their conventional TV deal. When LIV first started their tournaments, they were literally broadcast on the internet.
So where are they today, four years post divorce? The PGA knows the split must be resolved; two tours are not better than one.
In early April the PGA rejected a $1.5 billion equity offer from the PIF; part of the issue was the Saudi-run PIF would require LIV to continue operating its own events, a nonstarter for PGA—they want a true reunification. The reality is, the PIF can fund LIV forever. Reportedly in four years their LIV investment is $5 billion. If this were an actual business, it would have closed long ago, but PIF funds are endless. And PGA continues to thrive. There’s an argument that the PGA doesn’t actually want to merge; that instead they keep negotiating to stave off LIV from buying more of their stars.
LIV has money and music; PGA has attention and legacy. We’ll see what matters more in the end.
Category: News
