What Is LIV Golf? It’s Disruptive

An upstart is always a source of intrigue. And when the upstart involves the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the intrigue turns to obsession. With this in mind, I’ll answer the what is LIV Golf question, as you’re bound to ask yourself that if you haven’t already.

 

The Basics

LIV Golf is a professional golf tour founded in 2021 and inaugurated in 2022 as a rival to the PGA Tour. It is financed by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, known as the Public Investment Fund, and headed by former professional golfer Greg Norman. LIV, which rhymes with give, references the Roman numerals for 54, the number of holes played in LIV events.

 

More Details

Attempting to rival a tour with an annual revenue of $1.5 billion takes one key thing—money. And thanks to the discovery of oil under its sands in 1938, Saudi Arabia definitely has the prerequisite wealth. What that means is that while growing pains will be inevitable, the actual pain caused by early financial losses is blunted by the kingdom’s deep pockets.

LIV events—consisting of both an individual and team event—boast total prize money of $25 million, with the winner of the individual tournament taking home $4 million. To put that in perspective, the most prestigious events on the PGA Tour—for example, the Masters—might deliver $2.7 million to the winner. And unlike PGA Tour events, LIV events—which consist of just 48 golfers—have no cut, meaning that even the last place finisher is guaranteed some money ($120,000 to be exact).

All this comes with playing just 54 holes, compared to the usual 72 on the PGA Tour. Throw in appearance fees and a signing bonus, and the deal is rather enticing.

Of course, the Public Investment Fund would ultimately like for LIV Golf to sustain itself and not remain a money pit. In order for that to occur, big-name golfers need to leave the PGA Tour in favor of LIV. Similarly, the budding tour has to land a media rights contract of the type that brings in the lion’s share of revenue to professional sports leagues worldwide. To date, it has taken baby steps toward achieving these goals, landing names such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, and Bryson DeChambeau and securing a contract with The CW Network to broadcast events in the US.

Another important revenue source—corporate sponsorship—has been slow to materialize as Western companies have treaded lightly to avoid being viewed as overtly supportive of the controversial Saudi regime (see below).

Because the PGA Tour has not taken kindly to the encroachment on its territory, it has blocked defectors from participating in its events, meaning that apart from a handful of majors not run directly by the PGA Tour, the decision to defect is an all-or-none phenomenon.

 

The Controversy

No good American would ever argue with a little competition, but when the competition comes from an authoritarian regime that has exported ultra-conservative Islam and ignored human rights, the narrative can shift.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of so-called sportswashing, or using sports to polish its image and deflect attention away from its history of oppressing women, outlawing homosexuality, and killing opponents. By choosing monetary gain over ethical concerns, golfers who have joined forces with LIV have been accused of indirectly condoning the government’s behavior.

Calmer minds have pointed to a few simple truths in defense of the athletes, starting with the fact that the Public Investment Fund has a diverse portfolio, intermittently holding stakes in companies such as Alphabet (parent of Google), Microsoft, Zoom, JP Morgan Chase, Starbucks, Costco, Amazon, Home Depot, Electronic Arts (think EA Sports), Uber, Live Nation, Boeing, Facebook, Citigroup, Disney, BP, Bank of America, and Berkshire Hathaway.

Singling out a few golfers looking to make more money off their talents therefore reeks of hypocrisy.

Similarly, pretending that golf in the US has been a bastion of human rights is laughable. As an example, the somewhat backwards Augusta National Golf Club, host of the aforementioned Masters, allowed its first Black member in 1990 and its first female member in 2012. In other words, the PGA Tour is unlikely to be concerned about the rights of Saudis. It is, however, concerned about losing revenue to the government that is violating those rights.

Finally, some have highlighted the fact that Saudi Arabia’s Human Development Index is 35th in the world—considered very high—as evidence of the West misrepresenting yet another non-Western power.

 

So what is LIV Golf? We’ll find out.

Note: In June of 2023, the PGA Tour and LIV announced a possible merger!