The LIV Golf has been nothing but a threat to the PGA Tour since its inception. Its golf league has just begun, and the American golf organization has already lost many of its players, including some major tournament winners. And with the new announcement, the Saudi-backed league has given another headache to the Tour officials. 

According to the LIV officials, the league will have 14 events from 2023, more than 4 events they had already planned for its second year. Furthermore, a set of 48 contract-based players will play all 14 events, with permanent team captains and members. 

How will LIV Golf create more threats for the PGA Tour? 

The LIV Golf Invitational Series is an international golf 54-hole tournament with no cut. With their attractive purse money and format, many golfers, like Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, have already joined in. While losing the players to another league is a threat, having matching schedules is a significant threat the Tour is facing now. Notably, the DP World Tour also has the same problem. 

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So far, all 7 individual events of the league overlap with the schedules of the DP World and PGA Tour events. And with more events planned by LIV Golf for the following seasons, the chance of having the viewership count going down is pretty high.

The 2021 Saudi-backed league

The league has been facing many controversies since its inception. Yet, the second event of the Series is progressing at Portland’s Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club this week. 

The Series offers a total $25 million purse to its players, with $20 million for the individuals and $5 million for the teams. While the winning individual takes $4 million, the winning team receives $3 million prize money. 

The London Centurion Club hosted the inaugural tournament, in which Charl Schwartzel won the individual prize. And the team Stinger GC, with Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel, and Hennie du Plessis as members won the team event.

Notably, some noteworthy changes happened in the league when it moved to Portland for the second event. Bryson Dechambeau, Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka, and others have replaced some of the players from the London event. While some team captains retained their position, some teams have replaced their captains.

The PGA Tour and the DP World Tour already consider the Saudi-backed league as their biggest rival. They have even joined hands to sign an operational joint venture partnership to bring down their common enemy. However, with the new announcement, the league officials have set another threat to the tours.

How do you think the PGA and the DP Tour will respond to it?

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