On one hand, that can make for a distressed perception among golf fans. On the other, it makes the current iteration of LIV Golf perhaps its most fascinating, with an existential question creeping to the fore: Just how willing is everyone to keep pursuing what LIV Golf was originally after? <\/p>\n
IT DOESN\u2019T TAKE LONG TO SEE the almost-constant duality to the league that keeps it from breaking through, but also keeps it from going away. There tends to be an all-caps BUT that can be added to almost any argument \u2014 positive or negative \u2014 made about the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are the disappointing LIV TV ratings<\/a> that continue to sag while the PGA Tour\u2019s numbers have rebounded considerably. But then there\u2019s the on-site attendance, which is trending very positive for LIV as it charges through the Midwest. No doubt aided by the concert(s) that follow the golf \u2014 Good Charlotte was Chicago\u2019s headliner \u2014 Saturday\u2019s second round saw the greatest single-day attendance in league history. LIV expects to break that record (possibly twice) in just a few days at the regular-season finale in Indianapolis. Bringing top talent to pro-golf-deprived major metros has always been a wise strategy, but after four years of visiting Chicago, it appears unlikely LIV will be back in 2026. The league is looking for support from the state of Illinois. (Somewhat related: the PGA Tour is hosting the Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club next September.)<\/p>\n LIV Golf CEO Scott O\u2019Neil on his league\u2019s \u2018mission,\u2019 and why he took the job<\/a> Creativity and nimbleness abounds at LIV \u2014 far more than what you see on the PGA Tour \u2014 and the various franchises are no-doubt seeing greater sponsor interest than ever before. But there\u2019s always been a sprint-before-walking mentality to the rival golf league and its members. Multiple general managers will tell you they want these newborn franchises to one day be the golf equivalent of the Los Angeles Lakers or the New York Yankees \u2014 two of the most successful, most valuable, most engrained-in-the-culture sports brands the world has ever known. A more worthwhile dream would be getting as popular as (or growing alongside the trajectory of) Birmingham City Football Club, which plays in the third level of English soccer but trades well on the popularity of its minority owner, Tom Brady.\u00a0<\/p>\n New LIV CEO Scott O\u2019Neil<\/a> \u2014 who has been far more public and admirably transparent than his predecessor, Greg Norman \u2014 understands the travails of selling an underdog product. He and numerous LIV executives \u2014 including LIV president Chris Heck, who helped oversee the Champions League of Aston Villa FC \u2014 were in charge of marketing the Philadelphia 76ers in the mid-2010s, a franchise that willfully stripped itself of elite basketball talent and forced a rebuild.\u00a0O\u2019Neil admitted to me Sunday morning that there are similarities between that gig and this one, in garnering progress from the ground up. (Not-so coincidentally, Elton Brand, the current 76ers GM, was on-site at LIV Chicago Sunday.)<\/p>\n During his first year in the gig, O\u2019Neil has conducted a number of press conferences, including an impromptu one in England where he stated \u2014 with a pause for emphasis<\/a> \u2014 the overall contract value of league sponsorships has increased by a factor of 10. LIV has landed serious deals with Salesforce and global bank HSBC. They make up two of the six sponsors featured prominently on LIV\u2019s website. The other four are companies owned by LIV\u2019s parent company, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund: Maaden, Riyadh Air, ROSHN Group and Aramco.\u00a0<\/p>\n You see these brands on the grounds in much the same way you see RBC sponsorship at the PGA Tour\u2019s Canadian Open. Local brands get involved, too, with activations in the fan village that LIV creates at every event. In England, a members-only English Pub \u2014 The Majesticks Arms \u2014 was erected directly beyond the 9th green, outfitted with Estrella Damm taps and dart boards just steps off the putting surface. Some of it is hokey \u2014 see: the old British phone booths that make an annual appearance at LIV Golf UK \u2014 but some of it is also catching on. All of it, no doubt, fits a distinct LIV Golf vibe. The Chicago village was centered around a large pop-up bar run by Lottie\u2019s, a beloved Second City pub. There\u2019s something repeatable there, right? Fans hung around the bar area long after the golf ended Sunday.<\/p>\n And the BUT?<\/p>\n About 100 yards away from the Lottie\u2019s pop-up was the concert stage where, on Sunday, champagne was once again streaming through the air. On one end of the camera lens, it was a hell of a time for the victorious Stinger GC. Behind that camera, though, only a couple hundred spectators had moseyed over to witness it. You can spend a lot of money to make something happen, but you can\u2019t necessarily guarantee it catches on. You can also spend a lot of money booking Jon Rahm and his Name, Image and golfing Likeness, but you can\u2019t guarantee he\u2019ll stick around for the podium ceremony when he loses a playoff. While Dean Burmester hoisted the trophy atop the podium, Josele Ballester stood to his right, arms crossed. Rahm was nowhere to be found.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sean Zak<\/p>\n Were the event won by, say, Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s Crushers \u2014 who are a domestic leader in merchandise sales \u2014 certainly many more Chicagoans would have stuck around. Stinger GC will find a far greater reception in seven months, when the league travels to South Africa<\/a> for the first time. It will mark the first time many of golf\u2019s best players compete in that part of the world. You have to strain pretty hard to look at the global schedule \u2014 a LIV staple \u2014 and think it\u2019s anything but great for the sport. Ticket sales for that event, according to Stinger GC general manager Richard Glover, have been \u201coff the charts<\/a>.\u201d The green and gold Stinger GC merchandise will surely be a local favorite that week. Although one issue lingers: LIV is currently being sued for trademark infringement by Stinger Golf, a company based in Ohio.<\/p>\n Lastly, as ever, the most fascinating element of LIV\u2019s duality rests in its roster. <\/p>\n Consider the existence of Anthony Kim, whose journey back to pro golf was both incredibly inspiring but also at times sad. Kim landed on LIV in early 2024 and has spoken about changing his life, becoming a father and getting sober<\/a>. At the outset, he held the golf world\u2019s fascination. But the last 12 months have, for him, been defined by poor play and social media spats.<\/p>\n Whether or not Kim plays beyond August 2025 seems less consequential to players more engrained in the DNA of the league. Pat Perez, for example, was signed in the second week of LIV\u2019s existence but is broadcasting instead of playing in 2025. Matthew Wolff, once one of the game\u2019s best prospects, is just inside the top 400, according to DataGolf. The only thing keeping him from relegation is the one week this year where his putter got hot, in Korea.<\/p>\n Suffering a worse fate is Ian Poulter, whose 2025 performance has him needing at least a top 20 (though more likely, a top 17) finish this week in Indiana to avoid being relegated from the league. Poulter and his Majesticks co-captain Henrik Stenson are both 49 years old and may not be allowed to play LIV Golf next season. (Stenson is one spot inside the relegation line.) They would retain the franchise equity they signed on for, sure, but what is it worth if he has to play his golf elsewhere? <\/p>\n These rhetorical questions don\u2019t necessarily have answers yet, but they\u2019ll be coming soon enough. On one hand, it\u2019s a tough look for one of the bigger names the league contracted to play three years ago. When faced with this same dilemma for Bubba Watson last year, the two-time Masters champ was allowed to stay on via a \u201cbusiness case\u201d loophole that no longer exists. And importantly so. Strict relegation (as well as increased pathways into the league) are one of the main reasons LIV believes it will soon obtain those pesky World Ranking points.<\/p>\n Looming above it all is an eery element of LIV\u2019s own creation. For years Greg Norman claimed he brought free agency to the world of golf, and in many ways, he was correct. But as time goes by, so too goes the months and years and guaranteed appearances baked into mega-million-dollar contracts. In a few months, DeChambeau will begin contract extension negotiations<\/a> with LIV.<\/p>\n The 31-year-old is as committed to team golf as anyone, which is great for Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Saudi PIF governor and LIV financier, who adores team golf and will ultimately green-light DeChambeau\u2019s next signing bonus. It has become abundantly clear that DeChambeau is Al-Rumayyaan greatest asset \u2014 both on YouTube but possibly in the White House<\/a> as well \u2014 and was unquestionably LIV\u2019s best investment. All of which will make him a very pricey one moving forward, too. <\/p>\n Sean Zak<\/p>\n
\n ![\"liv](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/scott_oneil-scaled.jpg\")
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\n Art Stricklin <\/a><\/p>\n![\"LIV](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LIVpodium.jpg\")
\n The team celebration for Stinger GC after LIV Golf Chicago.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/lowrez.jpg\")
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