1. What Is LIV Golf—and Why Was It Created?
🇸🇦 The Saudi Public Investment Fund’s Deep Pockets—and Greg Norman’s Ambition
LIV Golf is a new professional golf tour launched in 2022 with the seemingly limitless financial backing of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF). Its name, “LIV,” is the Roman numeral for 54—a reference to its defining format: players compete over 54 holes across three rounds, rather than the 72-hole format used on the PGA Tour. The tour is led by legendary golfer Greg Norman, the former “Great White Shark,” who serves as its chief executive.
💡 Why Was It Created? A Rebellion Against the Existing System
- Turning golf into entertainment: Responding to younger fans’ criticism that traditional golf was too formal and dull, LIV has embraced a festival-like atmosphere, complete with loud music and permission for players to wear shorts.
- A player-first compensation model: Although the PGA Tour generated enormous media-rights revenue, players who missed the cut received nothing. LIV, by contrast, offered guaranteed payouts worth hundreds of millions of won simply for taking part.
- Saudi sportswashing: LIV presents itself as a force for golf’s growth and innovation. But at its core, it emerged from Saudi Arabia’s lavish investment in sport as the kingdom seeks to launder its image as a notorious human-rights abuser.
2. The Conflict with the PGA Tour—and the Problems It Created
From the moment LIV Golf launched, the PGA Tour branded it a “hostile incursion,” setting off a full-scale war between the two organizations. The main points of conflict included the following.
Suspensions, Expulsions, and Legal Battles
The PGA Tour imposed severe penalties on players who joined LIV, including a “ban from PGA Tour events and suspension of membership”. In response, LIV players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, which countersued, turning the dispute into a courtroom battle.
A Colossal Spending War—and a Battle for Players
LIV Golf lured some of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars—including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Jon Rahm—with signing bonuses worth hundreds of billions of won. Feeling the pressure, the PGA Tour rushed to respond by dramatically increasing purses and introducing a system of elevated “Designated Events” with bonuses for top players.
The Fight Over Official World Ranking Points
Because LIV events have no cut and feature a limited field of 48 to 54 players, the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) did not award them official ranking points. As a result, the world rankings of players who joined LIV plummeted, threatening their eligibility for major championships such as the Masters and the U.S. Open. The issue remains a major point of contention.
The Plot Twist: A Dramatic Merger Announcement—and Where Things Stand Now
After years of fighting as if their survival depended on it, the two organizations stunned the world in June 2023 by unexpectedly announcing a merger and the creation of a joint for-profit company. But antitrust investigations by the U.S. government—including the Justice Department and the Senate—and an angry backlash from players have prevented the deal from being fully finalized. As of 2026, negotiations remain shrouded in uncertainty, with the parties still working through the details of a complete integration.
3. What the Players Really Think: “Money vs. Tradition”
Players have largely split into two camps—those who left for LIV and those who stayed with the PGA Tour—creating deep rifts among longtime colleagues.
The LIV Golf Camp (Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, and Others)
- Pragmatism and quality of life: Their position is straightforward: “Why not play fewer events, spend more time with family, and secure an enormous guaranteed payday?”
- Support for change: They criticize the PGA Tour’s bureaucracy and monopoly-like structure, arguing that LIV’s team-based format represents the future of golf.
The PGA Tour Loyalists (Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler, and Others)
- Protecting honor and history: They defended the PGA Tour’s values, insisting that “history and tradition cannot be bought with money.”
- A sense of betrayal: Players who rejected Saudi Arabia’s enormous offers and stood by the tour felt deeply betrayed and furious when PGA Tour leadership later moved to merge with the Saudi-backed PIF. (Rory McIlroy, who had taken on the role of LIV’s most vocal critic, was particularly disillusioned and has recently shifted toward a more neutral position.)
4. How the Media at Home and Abroad Has Judged LIV Golf
Media coverage has evolved from intense early condemnation toward a more mixed assessment that acknowledges LIV’s role in reshaping the market.
- “Blood-stained money—the textbook case of sportswashing” (the critical view)
- The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other major international outlets: These publications have sharply criticized LIV as a classic sportswashing project intended to obscure Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s record on human rights. They argue that a sport once seen as pure has been distorted by the excesses of capitalism.
- “The catfish effect that shook golf out of its slumber” (the pragmatic, positive view)
- Golf Digest, The Sporting News, and other specialist sports publications: These outlets acknowledge that LIV forced the PGA Tour to break its monopoly and improve player compensation, including payments for players who miss the cut and larger purses. Some also credit LIV with giving consumers and fans a new kind of spectacle.
- “In the end, Saudi Arabia’s financial power is the winner” (the market analysis)
- The Wall Street Journal and other business publications: They see the saga as an illustration of capitalism’s realities—a case in which the PGA Tour, despite fierce opposition from golf traditionalists, ultimately had no choice but to bow before vast amounts of capital and come to the negotiating table.
📌 Summary and What Comes Next
LIV Golf began with a question: “Can money buy golf’s history and honor?” In the process, it has transformed the sport’s entire ecosystem.
The conflict has now moved beyond the stage of mutual denunciation. The two sides are engaged in a sophisticated business and power struggle over how to accept Saudi money while preserving the PGA Tour’s traditions—and how to bring players from both camps back together in the same events.
