Even LIV Golf’s biggest fan would struggle to argue that the league has not seen its momentum stall as it approaches the start of its fifth season next month.
LIV Golf threatened to take over when they turned the game upside down in 2022. However, it appears that the PGA Tour has weathered the storm and emerged in a good position. LIV, meanwhile, has struggled to kick on.
Rate LIV Golf’s off-season out of 10…
Brooks Koepka has left, while they have signed the likes of Laurie Canter and Thomas Detry so far
This off-season has seen LIV fail to make any marquee signings. They have also had to deal with losing a star player for the first time, with Brooks Koepka paying $30 million to end his contract one year early.
The league will look different in 2026.
LIV Golf warned one decision made could upset many of their players
There will now be 57 players teeing it up in each round. And of course, they have added another round to their tournaments.
It appears to be an attempt to secure world ranking points at long last. But Bubba Watson told Mirror US that he is not a fan of events being played over 72 holes.
And speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman suggested that LIV could face much more of a backlash if the OWGR decide to still not award the league with points for their events.
“The players are going to be really upset if they don’t get OWGR points before the season starts and they have to play an extra round. I think the players are going to be very upset. And you’ll hear more players be more vocal about it,” he said.
“You’ve seen quotes from Joaquin Niemann talking about how frustrated he is with the process. I think you’ve got to look back to when they basically threw in the towel for a couple of years, saying, ‘gosh, it just isn’t going to work out for us getting OWGR points’. That was poor leadership on their part to not do more.
“I think they’ve had Scott O’Neil really try to push the ball here to get points for these guys. I’m not saying they shouldn’t get points by any means, but it would be hilarious if they had to play that extra round really for no reason, because I actually think there are more unique winners who come out of 54 hole championships versus 72.”
The problem LIV Golf still faces after seeing their previous application rejected
LIV has definitely made a notable effort to seemingly comply with the regulations. They were widely ridiculed for the change to 72 hole events given that LIV is 54 in Roman numerals.
But there does appear to be a problem that the league is yet to overcome.
What’s the biggest reason you don’t watch LIV Golf?
As reported by ESPN, their previous application was rejected due to the fact that they had a team competition running alongside the individual event.
Clearly, the team format is now one of the only aspects that separates LIV from its rivals. So it remains to be seen if that proves to be what trips the league up once again with their latest application.
It would be a huge boost for LIV if they could receive world ranking points. There may perhaps be several more players who like the idea of jumping ship if that is the case.
However, there is no question that time is running out for a decision before the first event in Riyadh.
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