{"id":269251,"date":"2025-11-07T17:34:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T17:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/269251\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T17:34:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T17:34:09","slug":"golf-observers-chime-in-on-livs-move-to-72-hole-tournaments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/269251\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf observers chime in on LIV\u2019s move to 72-hole tournaments"},"content":{"rendered":"

LIV Golf\u2019s move to a 72-hole format in 2026<\/a> for both its individual and team competitions is drawing a variety of reactions. All three members of an SI roundtable agreed that the transition is the \u201cright move for the league as it continues to seek legitimacy.\u201d SI\u2019s Bob Harig wrote, \u201cI always felt it was fine to play 54 holes because the idea was to do something different. \u2026 But clearly, 72 holes is an issue with OWGR. And some of the top players wanted it, too.\u201d SI\u2019s Jeff Ritter: \u201cThe 54-hole event model was a holdup for OWGR consideration and a popular punchline for detractors. Going to 72 doesn\u2019t fix everything, but it\u2019s a small step in the right direction.\u201d SI\u2019s John Schwarb: \u201cLIV\u2019s 54-hole no-cut golf was trashed from the start, perhaps unfairly, but it had to go\u201d (SI, 11\/6<\/a>). <\/p>\n

NO LONGER UNIQUE? GOLFWEEK\u2019s Cameron Jourdan asked if LIV \u201ccompromising a large chunk of what makes it different\u201d from other tours is a \u201cbenefit for the league, or is the chase for OWGR points signaling the beginning of the end?\u201d LIV Golf\u2019s initial slogan was \u201cgolf but louder.\u201d Now, LIV Golf is \u201clouder and longer, the opposite of a big reason the league was appealing.\u201d Shotgun starts will remain, but with four days of competition now instead of three, what makes LIV Golf \u201cdifferent from the PGA Tour or DP World Tour?\u201d The league has \u201cgotten rid of a big part of its identity for OWGR points that will likely be minuscule because of strength-of-field factors.\u201d Jourdan: \u201cLIV Golf has ditched something that made the league unique. Now, it will be just another golf tour that plays 72 holes a handful of weeks a year\u201d (GOLFWEEK, 11\/6<\/a>). <\/p>\n

MAINSTREAM SHIFT: GOLF\u2019s Dylan Dethier wrote the move is a \u201cpart of a shift away from the pirate-ship mentality\u201d that former LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman<\/a> originally brought. And as LIV CEO Scott O\u2019Neil<\/a> took over from Norman in the summer of 2025, he has taken a more \u201cdiplomatic public approach to the league\u2019s place in the golf ecosystem.\u201d Dethier: \u201cRevolution was one of LIV\u2019s foundational principles; now it appears to be steering back towards the mainstream.\u201d The \u201congoing question is what LIV\u202fstands for, like, from a fan perspective.\u201d The most \u201cobvious difference is its teams.\u201d But its tournament structure (14 events, 72-hole stroke play, $20M individual purses)\u202fis \u201calmost identical\u201d to that of the PGA Tour\u2019s Signature Events (12 events, 72-hole stroke play, mostly $20M individual purses) (GOLF, 11\/6<\/a>). <\/p>\n

MISSING THE POINT: GOLF DIGEST\u2019s Shane Ryan wrote there is \u201cno reason to feel anything but complete indifference to this story, and I\u2019d say the same about any other change they breathlessly trotted out.\u201d Ryan: \u201cNone of the cosmetic format changes have ever made a lick of difference, and they\u2019re not going to start mattering now.\u201d He added, \u201cWalking back the titular innovation is a sign of weakness, but that stopped being news ages ago. They can get rid of the shotgun starts, they can shut off the music.\u201d Ryan: \u201cThey can even start raking in OWGR points. None of it will change a thing, because the format was never the point, and it\u2019s never going to\u202fbe\u202fthe point. The point is the players, and on that front they look farther than ever from victory\u201d (GOLF DIGEST, 11\/6<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LIV Golf\u2019s move to a 72-hole format in 2026 for both its individual and team competitions is drawing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,14239,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-269251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-liv-golf","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}