LIV Tour Discussion Thread (*** NO POLITICS ***)

[jdl]

 

[Cactus Jack]

Rory running hot!

 

Rory McIlroy says PGA Tour triumphs at venues such as Pebble Beach and Riviera will be devalued in the absence of two-time major winner Jon Rahm and other star players following their defection to LIV Golf.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mcilroy-sees-pga-wins-cheapened-233527762.html

[kiwigolf72]

LOL Rory getting ready to defend his move to LIV.

[Cactus Jack]

Interesting comments from Morikawa on the PGAT's problem with TV viewership...it's too slow and you don't see enough golf. In contrast, LIV absolutely nailed it with their shotgun start, as they can pack in 10x of the shots. Plus, you get to see everyone playing vs. a featured group or just the leaders. As a golf fan, I appreciate the increased action and ability to watch more golf. 

 

“I turn on golf on a Thursday if I play early, I turn it on and I see three golf shots and I question why. The reason why other sports are — people pay attention is because people see more, you can probably bet more. People like betting when you can watch it live, not watch it on ShotTracer.”

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/collin-morikawa-discusses-problem-golf-120036811.html 

[woahnelly]

19 minutes ago, kiwigolf72 said:

LOL Rory getting ready to defend his move to LIV.

 

It's inevitable at this point. PGA slowly becoming the US Tour vs the global LIV Tour with cultured US players. 

 

Rory should be on the Ireland gymnastics team this Olympics, because he's the best at flipping. 

Edited January 31 by woahnelly

[BlackDiamondPar5]

2 minutes ago, woahnelly said:

 

It's inevitable at this point. PGA slowly becoming the US Tour vs the global LIV Tour with cultured US players. 

LIV with no audience or sustainable cash flow? As soon as Daddy Warbucks loses interest the whole thing ends up in the dumpster. 

 

PGA Tour lives on regardless of what LIV does. 

Edited January 31 by BlackDiamondPar5

[woahnelly]

1 minute ago, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

LIV with no audience or sustainable cash flow? As soon as Daddy Warbucks loses interest the whole thing ends up in the dumpster. 

 

PGA Tour lives on regardless of what LIV does. 

 

True, that is the joker card. If PIF gets blocked to invest in the PGA do they counter full poach ahead with LIV or give up entirely? Stay tuned next week on CW following the Maury Show!

[ahenderX]

44 minutes ago, Cactus Jack said:

Rory running hot!

 

Rory McIlroy says PGA Tour triumphs at venues such as Pebble Beach and Riviera will be devalued in the absence of two-time major winner Jon Rahm and other star players following their defection to LIV Golf.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mcilroy-sees-pga-wins-cheapened-233527762.html

LIV must have given Roy a percentage of nothing.

[Shankieboink]

LIV will be gone in a few years. The reason is simple. And I have seen this so many times in different areas. LIV doesn’t understand their product. They sell golf tournaments to viewers. Who are these viewers? Mostly men, mostly guys who play golf. Some have been watching golf for 50 years or more. Others are new to it. These guys can be from all over the world. But one thing is pretty much the same no matter where you are from. The rules, and the tradition. It’s very conservative. But that is one thing that also give it a value. Like an old brand of whiskey. I think it’s a bit stiff some times, but you take the bad with the good.

 

Tiger Woods cheated on his wife. I personally don’t care. But people still write about it. Had it been hockey or some other sport. People would have forgot it in a week. Golf is different. We talk about Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan as they were still active. We talk about 4-irons hit 40 sometimes 70 years ago. Every year at the TPC we get to see Fred Couples at the 17th when he hit his ball in the water and followed up with a par (hole in one) on the re hit. The audience are the guys watching this stuff. Year after year. 
 

What does the LIV tour do to get this audience interested? They create some plastic format. A wanna be hip club of celebrity golfers in short pants and loud audience. Music and shotgun start. Tons of money, for what? Yeah, some people will allways like these kind of new things. They are also the first to leave for something fresher. And the team names. Seriously, lol. Are these seriously some names for grown ups? Fireballs, Crushers, Ripper. ”Hey, I’m a former PGA-tour star. I used to play at Pebble Beach, Sawgrass etc, but not anymore.  Now I’m super cool and play for a team called Crusher. Because, eh. We crush..”

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

26 minutes ago, Cactus Jack said:

Interesting comments from Morikawa on the PGAT's problem with TV viewership...it's too slow and you don't see enough golf. In contrast, LIV absolutely nailed it with their shotgun start, as they can pack in 10x of the shots. Plus, you get to see everyone playing vs. a featured group or just the leaders. As a golf fan, I appreciate the increased action and ability to watch more golf. 

 

 

I find it interesting that when you're talking about the early round Thursday morning coverage people are complaining about not seeing enough shots--the coverage that is only available on ESPN+ and hasn't even been promoted to Golf Channel, much less the networks (which isn't typically until the weekend). And the complaint is no longer valid if you wait until ~45 minutes into the broadcast when there are enough players on course that there's plenty of action. 

 

If you want to see a lot of golf shots, what's better? 140+ player fields, playing 72 holes, with field sizes post-cut that are larger than LIV? Or 50ish players playing only 54 holes? Which one has more shots to see? 

 

It seems odd that the LIV fans say "I just want to watch more golf" and then complain that the PGAT has "too many events". And then they say "I just want to watch more golf shots" so they watch fewer participants playing only 75% of the number holes as PGAT events in a smaller broadcast window. 

[BlackDiamondPar5]

28 minutes ago, woahnelly said:

 

True, that is the joker card. If PIF gets blocked to invest in the PGA do they counter full poach ahead with LIV or give up entirely? Stay tuned next week on CW following the Maury Show!

They can certainly burn cash till the end of time. Will anyone watch it? Probably not. More would tune in to Maury to watch MBS burn dumpster full of cash 🤣

[wedgegame]

19 minutes ago, Cactus Jack said:

LIV absolutely nailed it with their shotgun start, as they can pack in 10x of the shots.

Then why is the viewership so low?  They have sufficient star power, a format they nailed (your words), and an unlimited budget so why isn't anyone watching?

 

Here is the Google Trends data for web interest for "liv golf":

 

 

I removed their launch week as it skewed the rest of the data, and they definitely made a splash early, but there hasn't really been any YoY interest growth as of yet.  So again I ask, if LIV is knocking it out of the park like you and others around here like to tout, then why isn't the product more popular?  Should they spend more on marketing and promotion?  

 

And since LIV is a global product,  here is the global data which shares a similar trend:

 

[fixyurdivot]

Looks like Jay found his sugar-daddy in Fenway/Strategic Sports Group. A $3B raise at the professsional golf poker table.  So now it's PGA Tour Enterprises.  It's still unclear how they are now a "for profit" business while still being a "non-profit" business?  And Rory now saying all defectors should be welcomed back with no penalty and that money is not the solution for the greed in professional golf.  This storyline remains a masters course in schizophrenia 🙃

Edited January 31 by fixyurdivot

[billyspan]

7 hours ago, Neutral_Impact said:

On the topic of South Africa, the European tour already has 5 events in South Africa, perhaps there would be some potential in making one of them co sanctioned or making one a rolex series event

I like this.  South African & Australian Opens deserve more love.

 

If I were the PGA and/or Euro Tour, I would lock those and a few more national opens down as premier events (Canada, Ireland, Spain, Argentina)  No need to try to go all WGC on them.  You cannot buy that history.  I don't think Japan or Korea is letting any "foreign" tour near their national opens.

[bscinstnct]

25 minutes ago, wedgegame said:

Then why is the viewership so low?  They have sufficient star power, a format they nailed (your words), and an unlimited budget so why isn't anyone watching?

 

Here is the Google Trends data for web interest for "liv golf":

 

 

I removed their launch week as it skewed the rest of the data, and they definitely made a splash early, but there hasn't really been any YoY interest growth as of yet.  So again I ask, if LIV is knocking it out of the park like you and others around here like to tout, then why isn't the product more popular?  Should they spend more on marketing and promotion?  

 

And since LIV is a global product,  here is the global data which shares a similar trend:

 

 

Yes ive been checking the G trends out as well for a while and its terrible but…

 

If Rahm and BK and Cam are all in contention at a LIV event, and let’s say a couple more of their bigger names 

 

It will get a lot of views guaranteed. A lot. 
 

Tour doing the deal with SSG is great but they need to lock in PIF asap

Edited January 31 by bscinstnct

[stinger_gc]

4 hours ago, woahnelly said:

 

"We have the African Tommy instead"

Won’t be Tommy like unless he bottled it on  Sunday at Mayakoba with the lead or shot a 65 after starting 10 back to finish T5

[jimecherry]

1 hour ago, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

LIV with no audience or sustainable cash flow? As soon as Daddy Warbucks loses interest the whole thing ends up in the dumpster. 

 

PGA Tour lives on regardless of what LIV does. 

can you predict when that will happen?

[bcjim]

7 minutes ago, bscinstnct said:

 

Yes ive been checking the G trends out as well for a while and its terrible but…

 

If Rahm and BK and Cam are all in contention at a LIV event, and let’s say a couple more of their bigger names 

 

It will get a lot of views guaranteed. A lot. 
 

Tour doing the deal with SSG is great but they need to lock in PIF asap

I don't see it. People just aren't going to watch exhibitions. Other than Bryson tearing up Greenbrier can anyone recall anything at all that happened on liv last year??  

 

 

[grm24]

5 hours ago, billyspan said:

I like this.  South African & Australian Opens deserve more love.

It's not that easy to do. Remember that the South African and Australian events are also part of other professional tours yearly schedules. These events are only co-sanctioned with the DP Tour. The PGA Tour and DP tours aren't going to simply march into the Sunshine and PGA Tour of Australasia and co-opt or take over those events and cost those tours members playing chances. Those tours aren't going to sell their members out for that.

Edited February 1 by grm24

[jimecherry]

2 minutes ago, bcjim said:

I don't see it. People just aren't going to watch exhibitions. Other than Bryson tearing up Greenbrier can anyone recall anything at all that happened on liv last year??  

 

 

HV3 won an event and bryson beat his teammate in one event.

[woahnelly]

4 minutes ago, bcjim said:

I don't see it. People just aren't going to watch exhibitions. Other than Bryson tearing up Greenbrier can anyone recall anything at all that happened on liv last year??  

 

 

 

Chase Koepkas ace in Australia.. that's about it. I watched the final event Bryson was putting everything in, he might be able to win a major this year with his illegal clubs!

[PlusGolferUk]

1 hour ago, Shankieboink said:

LIV will be gone in a few years. The reason is simple. And I have seen this so many times in different areas. LIV doesn’t understand their product. They sell golf tournaments to viewers. Who are these viewers? Mostly men, mostly guys who play golf. Some have been watching golf for 50 years or more. Others are new to it. These guys can be from all over the world. But one thing is pretty much the same no matter where you are from. The rules, and the tradition. It’s very conservative. But that is one thing that also give it a value. Like an old brand of whiskey. I think it’s a bit stiff some times, but you take the bad with the good.

 

Tiger Woods cheated on his wife. I personally don’t care. But people still write about it. Had it been hockey or some other sport. People would have forgot it in a week. Golf is different. We talk about Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan as they were still active. We talk about 4-irons hit 40 sometimes 70 years ago. Every year at the TPC we get to see Fred Couples at the 17th when he hit his ball in the water and followed up with a par (hole in one) on the re hit. The audience are the guys watching this stuff. Year after year. 
 

What does the LIV tour do to get this audience interested? They create some plastic format. A wanna be hip club of celebrity golfers in short pants and loud audience. Music and shotgun start. Tons of money, for what? Yeah, some people will allways like these kind of new things. They are also the first to leave for something fresher. And the team names. Seriously, lol. Are these seriously some names for grown ups? Fireballs, Crushers, Ripper. ”Hey, I’m a former PGA-tour star. I used to play at Pebble Beach, Sawgrass etc, but not anymore.  Now I’m super cool and play for a team called Crusher. Because, eh. We crush..”

 

What a wonderful post. Liv is a poor spectacle, mimicking silly team names as per NFL. They tried to buy PGA Tour failed so caused waves. Eventually will be one. Golf ain’t a team game and never will be

[bscinstnct]

5 minutes ago, bcjim said:

I don't see it. People just aren't going to watch exhibitions. Other than Bryson tearing up Greenbrier can anyone recall anything at all that happened on liv last year??  

 

 

 

There’s an inflection point 

 

many, including myself, will put on liv them shut it off in a few minutes 

 

But, if one Sunday I put it on and it’s Rahm, BK, Cam, BD and DJ all playing good golf and hunting the lead

 

I just might leave it on

 

Just being candid 

[grm24]

9 minutes ago, jimecherry said:

HV3 won an event and bryson beat his teammate in one event.

And I had tacos for dinner last night. My dinner had about the same impact on golf as HV3 winning did. Momentarily satisfying but not fulfilling or memorable in any other way.

Edited January 31 by grm24

[Titleist99]

2 hours ago, jdl said:

 

To change a professional golfer's greed problem, you'd have to change his DNA.

[bcjim]

2 minutes ago, jimecherry said:

HV3 won an event and bryson beat his teammate in one event.

No further questions, your honor.

[Titleist99]

1 hour ago, Cactus Jack said:

Interesting comments from Morikawa on the PGAT's problem with TV viewership...it's too slow and you don't see enough golf. In contrast, LIV absolutely nailed it with their shotgun start, as they can pack in 10x of the shots. Plus, you get to see everyone playing vs. a featured group or just the leaders. As a golf fan, I appreciate the increased action and ability to watch more golf. 

 

“I turn on golf on a Thursday if I play early, I turn it on and I see three golf shots and I question why. The reason why other sports are — people pay attention is because people see more, you can probably bet more. People like betting when you can watch it live, not watch it on ShotTracer.”

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/collin-morikawa-discusses-problem-golf-120036811.html 

I'm a professional golf watcher and more shots without text will do nothing for my viewing enjoyment. Dizzying shot after shot from random players disrupts the flow of the telecast. IMO🙂 Sorry Collin...

[Titleist99]

23 minutes ago, bscinstnct said:

 

There’s an inflection point 

 

many, including myself, will put on liv them shut it off in a few minutes 

 

But, if one Sunday I put it on and it’s Rahm, BK, Cam, BD and DJ all playing good golf and hunting the lead

 

I just might leave it on

 

Just being candid 

While we're being candid, I don't want to see any of them on my TV screen, not even on replay telecasts.🤣 

 

~PS/ Especially Sergio.

Edited January 31 by Titleist99

[fixyurdivot]

1 hour ago, bscinstnct said:

Tour doing the deal with SSG is great but they need to lock in PIF asap

Why do you think they need to lock in PIF?  With Fenway Sports/SSG now serving as their domestic version of PIF, I don't really see the urgency.  Also, it will be interesting to hear what Papa PIF has to say about Jay's bed hopping.  It wouldn't surprise me if calls the bet and doubles down.  Multi billionaires don't take kindly to being one-upped.

 

 

Edited February 1 by fixyurdivot

[bscinstnct]

2 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

Why do they think they need to lock in PIF?  With Fenway Sports/SSG now serving as their domestic version of PIF, I don't really see the urgency.  Also, it will be interesting to hear what Papa PIF has to say about Jay's bed hopping.  It wouldn't surprise me if calls the bet and doubles down.  Multi billionaires don't take kindly to being one-upped.

 

 

 

If they don’t the pga tour will lose at least one top 10 player a year. Maybe a top 5. Maybe PIF goes nuclear and spends 2 billion in bonuses in one year and pulls 3 top 10 guys. 
 

It looks like Rory already has a foot out the door! 🤣