Golf On a Global Scale: Does LIV Golf Pros’ Claims of ‘Growing the Game’ Hold Up?

Coming to 2024, ‘growing the game’ is perhaps the most ridiculed term in golf. After Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, and Bryson DeChambeau, we recently got another high-profile former PGA Tour pro, Jon Rahm, citing ‘growing the game’ as the reason for accepting a $566 million offer from LIV Golf.

That has drawn much of the ire of his Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry, who even said everything was “signed on the dotted line.” It’s not just fans and the PGA Tour pros. Even one of their own, Harold Varner III, once blasted his fellow LIV golfers who resorted to that narrative.

Regardless, Greg Norman, the LIV Golf CEO, said in a chat with the Fairway to Heaven podcast that the direction is “to build a platform, not just from an economic impact, but a key consumer impact standpoint, using golf to do that.” As LIV Golf is all set for its third season, arguably bigger and stronger with two of last year’s major champions in their team, does the claim of growing the game hold any water?

LIV Golf’s global footprint compared to the PGA Tour

This year’s LIV Golf will visit seven countries outside the US. Besides returning to Adelaide, which was the most celebrated event of the LIV Golf calendar last year, the Greg Norman-fronted league will stop in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Spain.

The PGA Tour, by comparison, only stops in five countries outside the USA in their 39-event schedule. Decidedly, the Tour has ventured less into uncharted territory. Greg Norman’s words evince that this has been a historical problem with the Tour.  “I think the one thing that bothered me for a long, long period of time… is how some of the institutional leaders, whether they’re from different parts of the world, have not recognized the value of what the globe can deliver for our game.”

Norman even suggested the idea when he was a player. Although then-commissioner Tim Finchmen torpedoed the idea, the Tour did come up with some changes. The World Golf Championship was started as a way to address Norman’s concerns. However, that experiment with global came to a halt.

The failed PGA Tour experiment 

The last World Golf Championship event was played last year. Before that, the WGC event in China was paused in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, even before then, WGC, barring the HSBC-sponsored event in China, enclosed itself within the walls of North America. “The ‘world’ part of the World Golf Championships wasn’t really in there,” Rory McIlroy said to the New York Times in last year’s WGC event.

Coming from McIlroy, it was a sad reminder that the largest Tour, boasting the best players in the world, failed to leave a global footprint. Where it did, it had to retrace. In fact, the Northern Irish golfer first saw Tiger Woods at a WGC event in Scottland. LIV Golf, however, has continued to expand roping on regional Tours to secure a solid future.

LIV Golf has ties with the Asian Tour

LIV Golf, on the other hand, has tapped into the Asian Tour as well. Pumping $300 million has meant the Asian Tour, despite having an offer from the PGA Tour, picked LIV Golf as a future partner. In return, one player from the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, Andy Ogletree this year, has earned his spot on the LIV Golf roster, and a handful of LIV Golfers play in international events.

Moreover, the Asian Tour will have seven tournaments this year, played in as many countries as possible. Aside from Hong Kong and Macau, for the first time, the International Series will touch down on North Africa through Morroco. Five of those events, kickstarted in Oman like the previous year, will have a purse size of $2 million, with the Qatar series having a purse size of $2.5 million.The last event in the international series, PIF Saudi International, boats a purse of $5 million.

Last year, Brooks Koepka teed up at the International Series Qatar in February. Whereas Sergio Garcia stepped on the greens of the International Series in Oman. Cameron Smith, too, has taken part in the international series. For the Australian, this is also another opportunity to earn enough OWGR points to solidify his chance for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Read More: As PIF Finds a New Ally in R&A, Does LIV Golf’s Long March Indicate a Growing Acceptance for the Upstart League?

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Great White Shark is pretty strong on his plan for a global tour. Being the man in charge of a nascent league with immense financial backing, the Aussie has found a perfect way to execute his plans. However, many believe a better way to spend billions is to invest in grassroots golf projects internationally. Rory McIlroy, despite shifting from his hardline stance on LIV Golf, is one of them.

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