One of the biggest criticisms of LIV Golf as a competitive sporting league has been the lack of depth beyond the cluster of superstar names who made the jump from the PGA Tour in the past few years.
There are plenty of genuine and legitimate reasons to dislike LIV Golf. The league is definitely still fighting for credibility amongst its critics. Meanwhile, it appears that it is the PGA Tour which is winning the ratings war.
LIV Golf Miami attracted fewer viewers than the Valero Texas Open, which proved to be a damp squib of an event. Meanwhile, the RBC Heritage saw a significant increase in viewership as Justin Thomas won at Harbour Town.
It remains to be seen how LIV Golf Mexico City competes against the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, with the latter boasting a weaker field. But once again, LIV is giving itself a good chance.
LIV Golf may have made an inspired decision as stars shine in Mexico City
The likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson were all in the mix at Doral ahead of The Masters.
And it is DeChambeau who goes into the final round at Club de Golf Chapultepec with a one shot lead. Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton make up the chasing pack. Five of the top 15 players heading into Sunday are major champions.
With that, it does perhaps have to be questioned whether LIV has actually made an inspired decision in how they have built their roster.
Now, it seemed to do LIV no favours at all to only sign younger players in the winter. Their most notable signing was perhaps Rick Shiels, particularly in the eyes of those interested in YouTube golf. But the gulf between their best and worst players could actually be beneficial – particularly in the short-term.
What it does help ensure is that players such as DeChambeau and Rahm are in and around the lead much more often. Rahm, of course, has never finished outside the top 10 in a LIV event.
Enforced or not, LIV Golf may have made a smart move with younger signings ahead of 2025
Admittedly, there are outliers. Few are going to recall the likes of Adrian Meronk and Marc Leishman winning come the end of the season.
But if a casual golf fan is wondering which event they are going to watch, they are surely going to be much more interested in a tournament which has DeChambeau and Rahm in the mix to win over a PGA Tour event which offers a lot more unpredictability – and thus, could produce a leaderboard with fewer household names.
Perhaps that is giving LIV Golf too much credit. Ultimately, it is hard to imagine that they would not have signed a number of PGA Tour stalwarts in the off-season had they had the opportunity.
But if they are going to thrive in the long-term, having their biggest names continually fighting for the titles is crucial.
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