LIV Golf has tried and tested ways to climb the PGA Tour mountain. New CEO Scott O’Neil has addressed LIV’s underwhelming TV ratings, particularly in the U.S., where their first event with FOX Sports drew an average of 12,000 viewers, and the final round of LIV Singapore averaged 34,000 viewers, a far cry from the 3.6 million who tuned in for the final round of The Players Championship on NBC.

O’Neil cited the challenges of competing in different parts of the world, including Riyadh, Adelaide, Hong Kong, and Singapore, where events were held at odd hours, making it difficult to register on traditional rating scales. Maybe this time, the league has a good solution.

The Saudi-backed league launching a brand-new scramble duel event that’s going to be epic. Imagine a mashup of social media creators and pro golfers competing together in teams. Actually, scratch that – we’ve already seen a similar concept in action at the PGA Tour’s Creator’s Classic, but LIV Golf is putting its spin on it with The Duels! There’s also more social media and YouTube content on this one. The lineup is insane, with pairings like Dustin Johnson and Wesley Bryan,  Sergio Garcia and George Bryan, Bubba Watson and Luke Kwon, and Phil Mickelson and Grant Horvat. There are six teams in total, and it’s all going down in Miami later this year.

The event is all about shaking things up and bringing a fresh vibe to golf. Adam Harter, LIV Golf’s Chief Marketing Officer, is stoked about the creator community’s impact on the game and sees this event as a way to celebrate that energy.” At LIV Golf, we champion bold, new approaches to the game, and The Duels is a perfect example of how golf continues to evolve and engage fans,” Harter said. “We love what the creator community has done for this game and this event is a way to celebrate the creativity and passion that fuels the modern golf community while connecting them with the most exciting elite golfers on the planet.” 

With commentary from hilarious personalities like Mason Nutt, Andrew Santino, and Joey Cold Cuts, this is going to be a wild and entertaining ride so let’s see what the fans have to say about it!

Netizens have mixed opinions on LIV Golf’s new experiment

It’s hard to please everyone and LIV knows it better than PGA in a much shorter time. After The Duels’ announcement, many colors shadowed opinions. Here’s how it unfolded. Starting strong, one fan said, “Goddamn this f–king sucks,” while the other wrote, “Cannot think of anything I’d rather watch less. Didn’t watch the “Creator Classic” on the PGA Tour either.”  Well, fans may be wrong here because the same concept, a mashup of social media creators and pro golfers, has proven to be a success time and again. Classic.

Despite initial skepticism about the Tour’s motives, the event drew impressive viewership numbers, with over 2 million total views, 118,000 concurrent viewers at its peak, and a significant boost in YouTube engagement and subscriber growth. One other fan said, “No one is interested,” but they should be. This suggests that the format has real potential for engaging younger audiences and growing the sport’s online presence with The Duels is worth eyeing.

Many fans were excited about the LIV Golf’s announcement and one of them wrote,” Smart move by LIV PGA needs to get it together“, while the other said, “A single channel benefits from six of the most famous golfers in the world and five of the most popular creators. Feels interesting!” Another fan expressed their opinion and wrote, “Not gonna lie, this is the best idea yet”, and you know what? It actually might be. The excitement for The Duel doesn’t come off as a surprise considering how much fans love watching their favorite creators duel with top golfers.

The concept has already proven to be a hit at the Creator Classic, which brought together social media influencers and pro golfers for a unique nine-hole event at East Lake Golf Club. The event was a huge success, with a talented lineup of creators, including Tyler Toney from Dude Perfect and the Bryan Bros, competing in a fun and entertaining format that showcased their skills and personalities. So, what are your thoughts on LIV Golf’s latest development? Let us know in the comment section below!