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Opinion
One of the most exciting sporting events I have seen recently has been LIV Golf in Adelaide shown on free-to-air television this weekend. I was totally entertained and captivated by the outstanding golf and crowd participation.
This is how golf should be played, not the stuffy atmosphere of their opposition brand. Yes, they wear shorts! And why not? Rather than being the protected species of the PGA Tour, the players seem to be enjoying themselves at a LIV event.
I switched it on not knowing what to expect and thought it would be an inferior product to the Masters coverage recently which was terrific. But a LIV event is like a rock concert compared to the opera of the PGA Tour.
The graphics are great, commentary with humour and the course at the Grange Golf Club looked a picture. They advertise it as: “Golf, but not as you know it. 12 teams. 48 players. 54 holes. No cuts. Shotgun starts.”
I’m writing this on pure emotion without delving into the finer details of the event, but the teams concept adds another dimension, combining a Ryder Cup atmosphere with individual rewards.
And as for the “Watering Hole”, the par three 12th, what a huge departure that is from anything we have previously seen in golf. Who said players cannot hit a ball when there is a cacophony of noise surrounding them? It is the party hole with bars, a DJ entertaining the rowdy crowd with music.
“Having an amphitheatre-type crowd around a hole has always been pretty special,” American star Brooks Koepka said ahead of the event.
When you give the spectators what they want and the players, too, you are onto something special which will be offering the PGA Tour organisers something to be concerned about. A huge crowd followed the event which will have other Australian cities clamouring to host LIV, except Melbourne, of course.
The LIV tour is in its infancy, with many critics surmising it will not last. I believe a similar sentiment was said about T20 cricket? With Rory McIlroy leading the charge for the PGA Tour, plus support from Tiger Woods, the battle for players will be a bitter one.
Tiger Woods. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Rory, however, appears to be losing fans with his continual criticism of LIV. He advocated for an event post-Masters which he unwisely withdrew from after missing the cut at the Masters.
I can imagine LIV boss Greg Norman sat around a table with others and said, “So what don’t we like about the PGA Tour?” and developed a plan to compete. Some have said the three rounds is inferior to the PGA but it seems to make sense to start a tournament on a Friday and finish on a Sunday.
LIV reminds me of the Formula One series with participants moving from country to country. Adelaide is locked in for four more years with Queensland and possibly New Zealand in consideration. Fourteen events including Singapore, London and Chicago are confirmed for 2023.
Of course, critics will be encouraged to derail LIV with their Saudi backing as they are offering an alternative to the PGA Tour, but if we just look at it from a purely golfing perspective, why cannot the two co-exist?
If more events are held around Australia the masses will come to see the superstars of golf, with the fields only growing stronger.
Yes, LIV is a sporting revolution like what Kerry Packer did to cricket in the ’70s and if Adelaide 2023 is anything to go by it will be just as successful. Nothing like a good revolution to bring about change, at the worse the PGA Tour will be pressured into making changes from the current stuffy, precious approach that is building player dissatisfaction.
Ask any of the crowd members if they had a good day at the golf, and I am sure of their answer. A good time was had by all.