LIV Golf’s first event was a lukewarm one. Viewership at Riyadh fell short and the atmosphere wasn’t great either. The complete blame was put on the choice of venue and mismanagement of marketing potential.

LIV Golf Riyadh averaged only 40,200 viewers across the final round. ‘LIV Under the Lights” as the event was termed had 54,000 viewers between 10 am – 12 pm ET and only 31,000 viewers for the last three hours. While it was a significant boost from the 12,000 viewers that were there on the first day. Still not enough for a PGA Tour rival.

But the second event is telling a different story. LIV Golf Adelaide has seen great numbers and people who were calling out LIV Golf’s inability to procure viewers despite the new TV deal with Fox Sports were silenced. Or is that really the case? Let’s dive in!

LIV Golf Adelaide’s first round pulled in 114,000 viewers, a 950% jump from Riyadh, featuring a Patrick Reed ace (and the crowd goes wild!). The numbers aren’t PGA Tour level, but with the event airing from 11:20 PM to 2:15 a.m., not exactly prime time, it’s no wonder.

What do you think about this though? Are you sold on LIV Golf’s Return or are they still on the fence?

Mixed opinions fill social media after LIV Golf’s day one at Adelaide

The timing which fell around midnight would mean that viewership should not be too high. However despite an 11:20 PM(EST) start the viewership boomed for the first round at Adelaide. People who were quick to hate on LIV Golf after their disappointing Riyadh numbers were given a wake-up call. “114k in the middle of the night.. I told all you liv golf haters to wait before you take a victory lap.. liv Miami will have even better numbers,” exclaimed one user.

One particular LIV Golf fan was a bit miffed hat the biggest X and social media pages ghosted LIV Adelaide’s success. “Golf media ignoring liv golf Adelaide is a joke.” Maybe it’s because the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational and the LET’s PIF Saudi Ladies International are stealing the spotlight this week?

However, one fan feels that it is familiarity and comfort that makes the media outlets ignore LIV’s  improved performance. “It’s not a joke.. it’s design.. they are paid to promote one thing. Not the other… just like political msm. All the same. Once a media outlet gets access to the inner circle which lines their pockets, they don’t want to let go of the teet. Just the business model.”

One fan blamed LIV’s organizers for poor marketing, despite LIV Adelaide’s massive turnout. With 30,000 tickets sold on day one, even Patrick Reed called the crowd electric after his ace. “If somebody makes a hole-in-one on a hole like that, you expect just craziness and chaos, and it was. The great thing, I felt like everyone did it the right way. No one got hurt, which is good.” Reed explained after his performance. The crowd showered the tee box with beer cans as a form of celebration. With that hype and turnout, you’d expect LIV to push the event harder, but nope, they dropped the ball.

Despite the improved numbers from the first event, the PIF-backed league has to go a long way before being able to challenge the PGA Tour. A Tour fan was quick to point out that the number does not mean much in a more global context, stating that NCAA Basketball games have more viewership than the international event happening at Adelaide. “Same time slot last year had 185k watching a USC basketball game”

With a potential merger in the works between the PGA and the PIF, the LIV Golf landscape is bound to change as time progresses. The viewership numbers could fluctuate a lot as the deal progresses. What do you think of the increased viewership in Adelaide? Is it a sign of better things for LIV or is it a one-off occasion?