It’s been four years since professional golf was torn in half by the creation of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league. It remains one of the most controversial events in the history of the sport.
With Greg Norman as its CEO, LIV Golf aimed to bring the sport on a global tour, while giving its players a significantly larger cut than its rival, the PGA Tour. That started a civil war, as the PGA Tour subsequently banned all LIV players from competing in their events.
Beyond the distribution of wealth, LIV Golf also introduced an all-new team format to the sport. Players still fight it out individually, with Jon Rahm winning the title most recently. But the season finale involves teams of players working together to be named champions.
That format was inspired by the 2020 Ryder Cup, said Norman.
Greg Norman says team play was missing from golf before LIV
LIV Golf’s format has been criticised, not only for its scoring system, which allowed Rahm to win the individual title with only one victory on the season, but also for running its team and individual leagues simultaneously.
Golf is traditionally an individual sport, which hands out individual awards. A large percentage of fans care primarily about which player will be standing at the top of the mountain come the end of the season, so why is the team event the season finale?
Norman, who recently left his role as CEO of LIV Golf, said it was the Ryder Cup that inspired LIV Golf, and because of the 2021 event at Whistling Straits, the league primarily aimed to introduce more team play to the fold.
He told Golf.com, “I had been to one other Ryder Cup, but this time I was really struck by the passion, the U-S-A chanting and all of that. It was a home game for the U.S., and you guys had lost the last one.
“I could see for the first time that the American players had these associations, based on where they went to college or the pods they played in or whatever, and the Europeans had it because they represented the tour they grew up on.
“So there was this really powerful team concept and all this passion. And I knew it was something totally missing from professional golf on all the major tours. And that was when I could see that this LIV Golf concept could work if we embraced this team concept.”
Unfortunately for LIV, they lack the depth of star power to pull off a truly captivating team event. Their pull is the star power at the top of their roster. YouTube star Bryson DeChambeau, five-time major winner Phil Mickelson and Rahm make up some of the sport’s biggest names teeing off in the league.
That’s the draw for fans, and while LIV Golf’s creators had team play in mind, they would be better off focusing on how to utilise their stars in the individual events.
Scottie Scheffler rips LIV Golf’s team format
World number one Scottie Scheffler is one of the most notable names to have criticised LIV’s format. He was questioned by reporters in August about the new FedEx Cup playoffs and responded by admitting he couldn’t understand what was going on with the LIV finale.
Scheffler, confused by LIV’s finale, said, “Look at what LIV is doing with their final tournament. I tried to read about it the other day – I still can’t figure out what they’re trying to do with the final tournament.”
LIV Golf’s season finale, The Team Championship, is a one-off event that follows the conclusion of the Individual Championship. Over three days, 12 teams compete in match play to advance to the Final.
This year’s event saw blockbuster showdowns between LIV’s biggest names, with Rahm’s Legion XIII beating DeChambeau’s Crushers GC in the final.
But Scheffler’s point in pressing for LIV. It’s confusing for fans to see Rahm crowned champion, only for the “season finale” to be played just a week later.
If LIV wants to model itself through a team format, it needs to commit fully to that structure. Their current half-measures confuse even the best player in golf.