LIV Golf has very much shook the world of golf to its core but now, some four years or so down the line, there remain a number of issues with the product as a whole.
While LIV Golf has a number of USP’s like music at venues, a dimmed down dress code and the team golf element to it, it’s still not quite hit the nail on the head when it comes to attracting the average golf fan.
Sure enough, there are some fans of LIV out there and there is no doubt that it’s travelling the world is helping the game in certain countries.
However, LIV initially prided itself on the team golf element of things and right now, it has to be said that it hasn’t really captured the imagination as they intended.
Sure, Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII are looking good and The Rippers winning in Australia was one of the highlights of 2024.
But now, after LIV Mexico this past weekend, Jon Rahm has made a comment that suggests LIV might have a long-term issue here.
Jon Rahm makes telling comment about LIV Golf’s team game
While Rahm very much remains the top dog over on LIV and his record speaks for itself, he’s also one of the most interviewed and with that, his comments are easy to pick up on.
Indeed, speaking after this week’s event in Mexico, Rahm said something when asked about the team element that should worry the LIV powers.
When asked about coming from 11 behind to overcome the Rippers in Mexico, Rahm actually admitted that he’d not paid much attention.
“I was watching a little bit more individually,” Rahm conceded. “The team aspect can be so volatile so quick that you don’t really look at it until the last few holes when it might matter a little bit more.
“That par putt at 17, definitely it was in my mind for sure, but before that obviously I’m a little more focused on the individual aspect of it.”
With that one comment there, it says a lot about just how the players view the team part of golf and the individual game.
For players like Rahm – multiple time major winners – golf will always be about winning for themselves deep down.
Golf, in it’s truest format, is an individual sport and while LIV have tried to capture the team part, it’s not gone to plan just yet.
LIV Golf need to be all in or not at all with team golf
In fairness to LIV and the PIF, there is a space in the world of golf for team golf.
Everyone loves the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, while the TGL has come along with its own version of the team element to try and get in on the act.
The problem for LIV is that with the team and individual events running side by side as part of the same tournament, it almost feels secondary.
Indeed, as Rahm says here, even their top players are not paying attention to the team leaderboard when in the midst of a tense individual battle.
For LIV to keep succeeding, it needs to either bite the bullet and write team golf off, have it as a couple of events a year where it’s played like a knockout, or go all in on it and keep it separate from anything individual.
Only then will players and fans care more. As it stands, the team part of LIV Golf is simply flopping.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
