a The key element of Masters’ intrigue takes place outside the ropes. Will Greg Norman and Yasir al-Rumayyan appear at Augusta National next week? It has become increasingly futile for the golf establishment to ignore LIV and its Saudi Arabian backers, but Augusta’s administrators are extremely dear to any potential distraction from the first major of the year.
If Norman and the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund are spotted under the famous oak tree at the Masters, it will serve as the final indication of the normalization or legitimacy that LIV craved, since it was just a PowerPoint plan. This has been the most expensive foot-in-the-door project in sports history; LIV is rapidly ramping up events worth $25 million (£19.8 million) in year three, before even taking into account the hundreds of millions spent on player acquisition.
The Masters, given their power and prestige, should play a key role in the potential unification of elite golf, rather than worry about awkward conversations on the clubhouse lawn. LIV isn’t going away. The head of a sovereign wealth fund is fundamentally more important to this sport today than Tiger Woods.
One notable absentee at this LIV stop in Doral is the property owner. Two years ago, Donald Trump played in the pro-am here, regularly joking about Joe Biden’s lack of golf skills. Trump was in West Palm Beach this week, but was unable to make the short trip to Miami. His book, The Art of The Deal, is still on sale for $28 at the club store.
The Trump brand is central elsewhere; from ping pong balls to mugs and T-shirts. Yet the man himself, normally a lover of golf-related publicity, is not there. You get the impression that LIV’s tournament staff is far from angry about that. Doral organized the LIV team championship last October. Very consciously there will be no repeat in 2024; the same window would be close to the US elections.
Doral’s recent history feels inextricably linked to the chaotic state of professional men’s golf. It was a host site for a World Golf Championship, a series of events created in part to fend off a Rebel tour plan led by Norman in the 1990s. Sergio García spat in a hole here. Rory McIlroy threw an iron into a lake; only to have it picked up by Trump and hung in the clubhouse bar.
By the time the 45th president became too hot for the PGA Tour, the WGC was moved to Mexico City. The tournaments no longer exist, but Norman’s dream, funded by endless petroleum pounds, later took off. Trump took the opportunity to do his part for the PGA Tour by welcoming LIV with open arms. Trump’s close ties with Saudi Arabia have raised eyebrows in the US.
“I think this is the first big boy golf course we’ve played this year,” Brooks Koepka said, in what could be interpreted as a comment on the lack of traction at venues elsewhere. Yet it is also true that LIV works best outside the United States. The galleries this week are nowhere near the level of attendance at the WGC in the past. However, they are noticeably younger. Amateurs paid thousands of dollars for a pro-am performance.
Speaking to the media in his native Australia this week, Norman predicted that 30,000 people will attend LIV’s upcoming stop in Adelaide every day. “The journey has only just begun,” said an encouraged Norman. He says he has a time frame in mind for leaving this company. Norman revealed he receives calls every week from industry leaders in other sports. This falls in line with the rising theory that the Saudi PIF will try to make inroads into other mainstream American sports. The Strategic Sports Group, which has a business deal with the PGA Tour and also wants PIF involvement, seems an obvious vehicle for that.
The tournament organization is clean and efficient, a situation that is partly explained by the number of experienced golf managers who, like players, have switched to LIV. Playing 54 holes and no early starts makes this a caddy’s dream, but those outside butlers insist they are treated far more fairly than was ever the case on traditional tours.
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“Everyone feels much more comfortable here now,” said an experienced bag man. That is also clear; Gone are the anxious looks or once common complaints about unfair media reporting. People like Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and García bore the brunt of that negativity. By the time Jon Rahm, the Masters champion, signed for LIV in December, the majority of people shrugged. Rahm was spared moral outrage.
There are competition problems. LIV’s inability to achieve world ranking status – Norman had told players this would be resolved – is having a negative impact on those looking to compete in majors. Talor Gooch, for example, has played in the last two Masters but is ineligible for next week’s edition after dropping to 550 in the world rankings. Some golfers don’t like to play the week before Augusta; they have no choice in this area.
The fact that a number of LIV players are out of contract, along with rumors of new LIV teams at the end of this year, should worry the PGA Tour. Room for newcomers means room to continue the drain of talent from a circuit that recently had to host its marquee event, the Players Championship, without household names. McIlroy complained this week about a 20% drop in the PGA Tour’s television audience; the Northern Irishman rightly acknowledged that LIV’s viewing figures are hardly impressive either, but this highlights how golf’s fractured state is not particularly helpful to anyone. Whether casual golf fans tune in to the Masters or are suitably turned off by infighting and money obsession remains to be seen.
“I trust Yasir, where the game will develop more globally,” said Phil Mickelson. That’s Yasir, not someone involved in pre-existing travel or governing bodies. One explanation for this is that the PIF can write the largest checks. Mickelson’s deliberate language, however, illustrated how golf has been turned on its head. The scene at Doral is a testament to this.