Mayakoba Calls but LIV Golf Still Raises More Questions Than It Answers

Confusion galore; answers are few and far between. Less than a week before LIV Golf’s third season kicks off, with a stronger field than last season, questions seem to outweigh the anticipation. LIV Golf has ostensibly added perhaps its biggest draw from its rival, expanded the teams, and thrown open more spots to increase the field size. Yet we don’t know the ramifications.

Who will join Jon Rahm on his new team? How will the new format work this season? LIV Golf officials have chosen to remain tight-lipped. Perhaps to grow the anticipation for its Mayakoba event next week. But that has only added to the confusion.

Who will be Jon Rahm’s ‘Sancho’ in his LIV adventure?

In less than a week, you will see Jon Rahm in Mexico. The Spaniard is supposed to have three members by his side. Yet, we know none. There are rumors of many bigwigs joining the league. Tyrrell Hatton. Wyndham Clark. Viktor Hovland. All of them are still on the PGA Tour, however, as the Tour released its AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am field. Unless someone calls in sick like Adrian Meronk and decides to bolt, LIV Golf has to forego the dream of pairing up Rahm with his Ryder Cup teammates.

Pro LIV Golf accounts on X (formerly Twitter) have suggested multiple names, from Promotions-entrant Kieran Vincent to former World No. 1 amateur Caleb Surratt. There has not been any official announcement, which makes it harder to pin it down to any stars. Interestingly enough, Surratt’s official website read “New site coming soon,” indicating some shake-up is indeed going on in his life.

Greg Norman, though, would want you to believe that eight to ten players are on the waiting list. Phil Mickelson asserted that more players are going to join the league. However, youngsters like Ludvig Aberg and  Hovland have shown no interest. Nevertheless, as recent developments show, Norman continues to take a trip over to the other side for more lucrative signings.

To LIV’s credit, they have brought what Golf missed: endless transfer speculations. How well has that worked out for the nascent league? The endless off-season speculation and curiosity have not translated into its viewership metrics. TV ratings continue to plummet for the Saudi-backed side.

Will the broadcasting experience change?

LIV Golf, despite being battered for its format, was expected to do one thing right. Broadcasting is where even the hardcore PGA Tour fans expected to see some welcome change. Perhaps an impetus for the Tour to make some necessary course corrections? Some upheavals, like the one that happened in purses, and most recently in the format as well with signature events?

Haven’t golf fans always wanted more golf instead of the commercial razia that NBC has cursed them with? Shane Bacon at Fried Eggs Golf pointed out the baffling paradox. The rebel league, despite having more golf to show (thank Shotgun Start for that), chose to put up tweets in between the games.

More importantly, LIV Golf has struggled to find broadcasters since its genesis. PIF attorneys even blamed PGA Tour officials for pulling the strings behind the smokescreen. As it is, the Saudi-backed league has to partner with CW, which lacks any sports broadcasting experience. From cutting off broadcasting abruptly to forcing people to switch over to streaming, the complaints against CW and LIV have been many and multifaceted. Let’s also not forget that round 1 is exclusively streamed on the CW website and the LIV Golf app.

Per Golf.com, LIV Golf’s TV revenue reached only $2M to $3M last year. The viewership started dwindling as the season advanced. Compared to the tour’s average viewership of 1.89 million, LIV managed 200,000. For lack of a better partner, the Great White Shark was compelled to choose CW as the broadcasting partner once again this year.

What about the new LIV Golf format?

Perplexingly, the format on LIV Golf’s official website still mentions only 12 teams with shotgun starts. Whereas, as per the recent announcements, there are going to be 13 teams, the newest one called Legion XIII which would be led by the Spaniard. Furthermore, to increase the field size, LIV officials have also offered two more spots to unsigned players.

One of them is reported to be Wild Card entry, a la Sponsor Exemption in the PGA Tour. Bunkered reported that LIV Golf officials haven’t yet decided on the specifics. Apparently, in line with its shotgun starts—love it or hate it, it is here to stay—LIV will have one more three balls to accommodate all the players.

Moreover, the drop zone, the season-ending ‘cut’, might also be expanded. Currently, players who finish after 45 have to face the guillotine. The only remaining option is the Promotion tournament. However, if the cutline stays at the same place, next season will require seven new players instead of three.

Read More: Has LIV Golf Exposed the Long-Overlooked Cracks in the PGA Tour’s Business Model?

But like other finer points, LIV Golf officials have maintained a steady silence on this matter as well. All eyes will be on Mayakoba on February 2, when LIV Golf kicks off its third season.