It was fitting that one of LIV Golf’s biggest success stories was the man to win their flagship event in Adelaide, with Joaquin Niemann winning by three for his third victory in the league.
No event probably gives LIV Golf greater reason for optimism than Adelaide, with the atmosphere proving to be completely different to the previous week in Riyadh.
Of course, it has been apparent for some time that the PIF are going to have a seat at the table in deciding the future of the golfing landscape. But LIV Golf is arguably still fighting for credibility as a product.
There are plenty of areas which require improvement. Some of the courses are far from memorable, while LIV was ridiculed for the underwhelming viewing figures in the United States during their season-opener in Saudi Arabia.
LIV Golf’s off-season continues to look extremely underwhelming
And it seems that LIV’s days of signing PGA Tour superstars may largely be over – judging by the business the league did over the winter.
LIV’s biggest player signing during the off-season was arguably Tom McKibbin, with the Northern Irishman doing enough to earn a PGA Tour card for 2025.
It is not clear whether it was forced or not, but it was notable that LIV signed a number of younger players, with the likes of Frederik Kjettrup and Yubin Jang amongst the new faces.
And actually, it seems like a smart strategy. LIV are not going to be able to rely on some of their biggest names for too much longer. A large number of LIV’s players are 45 or older. So it is imperative that the league finds new superstars.
They do have some players who have the potential to win majors. Tyrrell Hatton clearly has the game to win one of the sport’s four biggest events, while Niemann and David Puig have extremely high ceilings.
But if they were hoping for their new signings to hit the ground running, unfortunately, LIV will have been left disappointed.
LIV’s new signings struggle to make an impact in the first two events
Just two new signings – McKibbin and Ben Campbell – have finished inside the top 20 at the first two events. And it was only McKibbin who managed that in Australia.
Kjettrup meanwhile, finished second to last in Adelaide on 12 over par. Lee Chieh-po was tied for 47th, while Branden Grace – who re-signed with Stinger despite being ‘relegated’ – and Luis Masaveu finished 10 places higher.
Obviously, the younger players are going to need time to find their feet on LIV. But those who finish outside the top 24 at each event do not score points. So they are going to need to improve if they are going to keep their places on LIV and perhaps become the new superstars the league will desperately need.
The first two events have certainly done little to shake off the feeling that it was an extremely underwhelming off-season for LIV Golf.
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