It was refreshing to hear Brooks Koepka admit that LIV Golf is behind where he expected it to be heading into the 2025 season, with the league arguably struggling to close the gap to the PGA Tour.
While LIV Golf deserves credit for how far it has come in such a short space of time, there are a number of factors which suggest that it has been a disappointment so far.
Clearly, they have signed a number of the best players in the world. Meanwhile, they have an incredible amount of resources given that they have been backed by the PIF.
However, the league is yet to really take off, as Koepka noted. And there were particularly worrying signs for LIV ahead of The Masters.
LIV Golf has another big opportunity up against the PGA Tour
It appeared that LIV had an amazing opportunity to show their progress ahead of their event in Miami. The tournament was being played at Doral, up against one of the weaker PGA Tour events – the Valero Texas Open.
The Valero definitely did not deliver an exciting finish, with Brian Harman winning relatively comfortably. With that, LIV Golf Miami stood a brilliant chance of appealing to golf fans in the States who had previously been put off watching events in Adelaide or Singapore because of the time difference.
And LIV did have a fantastic leaderboard heading into the final round. Bryson DeChambeau led the way, while Sergio García, Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm were all within the chasing pack. It seemed that LIV had everything in its favour.
And yet, it was the PGA Tour which won out for the week in the ratings. Even if you argued that many may have watched on LIV’s app, the optics certainly did not look good.
That was definitely bleak news for LIV. And it may get even worse in their first event after The Masters.
LIV Golf desperately needs a fantastic week in Mexico City as the PGA Tour heads to the Zurich Classic
LIV is in Mexico City this week. Like Doral, Club de Golf Chapultepec has hosted WGC events in the past. So it is one of the more notable stops on the calendar.
And of course, there are no questions over how the field will look.
What makes this week even more interesting is the fact that it is going up against the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – the one team event on the PGA Tour this year. Plenty of those who do not like LIV are not fans of the team format, and thus, they may be tempted to give this week a miss.
Meanwhile, while Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa are playing, most of the biggest names are also taking the week off. There is no Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele or Justin Thomas. So it would appear that LIV may have even more in its favour this week than it did in Miami.
It would be unfair to judge LIV based on whether they beat the PGA Tour in the ratings, particularly given that viewing figures do not tell the full story by any means.
But again, optics are important at a time when the two tours appear to be at stalemate. So if the PGA Tour’s team event has a better week than many expect, it could be ominous for LIV in its current form.
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