WHAT DOES LIV GOLF HAVE TO GAIN?
There’s an element of ‘who at LIV Golf’ in this question.
For Greg Norman there would be great satisfaction in causing turmoil for the PGA Tour, which he has long held in low regard. In that sense, it is mission accomplished for the Shark (with the added bonus of remaining in the limelight well past his playing days).
The bigger question is about those putting up the money – Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – and what their goals might be.
Nobody really knows, though common sense says that beyond any sportswashing narrative there must be, in the longer term, a profit motive.
The Saudi monarchy’s publicly stated goal is to pivot away from their heavy reliance on oil for economic growth and towards a more open, inclusive and dynamic society.
There is some evidence to suggest there has been movement in this direction (not to the satisfaction of basic human rights expectations of most in the west, but movement all the same) and golf, like their investment in other sports, is a part of that.
While running week-to-week tournaments has been lucrative for the PGA Tour and its players, the Premier Golf League concept (which the Saudis seem to have simply copied) featuring teams owned by billionaires or large corporations and pitting only the very best of the best against each other could potentially be much more profitable.
While unlikely, those actually writing the cheques understand the complex nature of professional golf and its ecosystem, they have clearly been convinced the model has legitimate business potential.
Between gambling, merchandising, media rights and sponsorship, there is a significant amount of money to be made if the concept is delivered correctly.
However, it is equally likely there are other motivations at play and the eye-watering and unsustainable sums being spent to sign players at the moment can be seen as evidence of that.
Attracting big name players early is crucial to the venture’s success and the only guaranteed way to achieve that is with cash, something the PIF has plenty of.
Clearly, though, it’s not a long-term strategy and the league will need to start paying for itself (likely sooner than later) if it is to survive.
The downside of access to all that money is that it can be cut o. at any time and Norman does not have an open-ended cheque book to rely on.
Also overlooked in most of the analysis to date has been the value of LIV Golf (and other sports investments) to the Saudi monarchy domestically.
While not democratically elected, the country’s rulers are under pressure from within to modernise, and becoming a major player in international sport reinforces the perception they are doing that.
– Rod Morri
DID THE PGA TOUR AND DP WORLD TOURS HAVE ANY CHOICE BUT TO BAN/SUSPEND ITS
