It's because regardless of what the LIV "diehards" say, nobody gives a shit about it. It's "sustainable" as long as the Saudis have their DGAF money to throw at it.

Especially here in the U.S., their only hope is to go to markets that don’t have PGA Tour events. I honestly tried to go into with an open mind and I know golf can be slow to begin with but there was way too much down time in between many of the groups.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

The U.S. Open this year drew around that number per day. I know they were talking about 250k for the week at Pinehurst.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

It looked like there were 25,000 on 18 Sunday at The Travelers

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

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Did anyone go to the event in Bolingbrook? I watched two shots on the last hole and turned it off but was surprised the scoring wasn't a bit lower. I have never played that track before but thought there would be more scores in the double digits under par.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

LIV Golf's slogan is Golf, but Louder, but is it?

The Nielsen ratings are out for this weekend, and the ratings for LIV Golf in its individual championship at LIV Golf Chicago were some of the lowest of the season.

Only 89,000 people tuned in on the CW to watch Jon Rahm win the title Sunday, and on Saturday in the second round, which LIV Golf said was its highest-attended round in the United States ever, drew 134,000 viewers on TV.

Those numbers don't include LIV Golf Plus, but regardless, it paints a stark picture of fan interest in the breakaway league that concludes its third season this week at the Team Championship at Maridoe in Dallas.

Also on Sunday, the Solheim Cup drew an audience of 657K, seven times more than those who watched LIV. For comparison, the Solheim Cup ended about 2:45 p.m. ET Sunday, and LIV Golf Chicago concluded at 6:05 p.m. ET, so they weren't competing head to head.

As fans of the game continue to be turned off about discussions of PGA Tour vs. LIV and the ongoing push to bring the top players back together, LIV's TV ratings have yet to take off.

Also with direct competition from college football and the NFL, it's hard to imagine people turning off football to watch LIV Golf, and the numbers show that.

Rahm won Sunday, making $22 million in the process. That's $247 and some change for every viewer who tuned in.

Golfers are some of the highest-paid athletes in the world right now. But as LIV and the Public Investment Fund look ahead to what's next for the league, it's hard to imagine fan interest changing.

With three years of data, people are not tuning in to watch LIV Golf on TV.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I went all three days, grounds passes for Friday and Saturday, then Sunday we had tickets to their entry-level luxury box "Birdie Shack". Overall it was a fun experience. The music on every hole relaxes the mood a bit from traditionally stuffy PGA events, and they do some things concessions-wise that just make sense for watching live golf, like multiple keg-fed beer kiosks throughout the course, drink-only ordering lines at pretty much every proper concession stand, and free water stations and cool off areas. They still need to figure some things out, as the concession lines got ridiculous on Saturday when there were a lot of people, and the layout led to some pretty congested areas.

As for the format, I don't think anybody gives a rat's ass about the team format, the golfers included, and there seemed to be a total lack of emotion from all these guys at their individual championship, probably because they're cashing huge salary checks—some pro athletes do need to sing for their supper to get a compelling product, it seems. I could also take or leave the shotgun start, because while it's great to know if you find a cool spot on the course you'll be able to see every group come through in a shorter timeframe than a PGA event, the result is that if you spend $600+ dollars for a super premium luxury area, you're only getting roughly a net-six hour experience, whereas at a PGA event it's from basically early morning until play concludes later that afternoon.

Overall the crowd definitely skewed younger and party-centric. MANY seemed like they were there just for a good time with $12 beers and to see a few former PGA stars.

The quality of the golf may have been affected by the winds in that super flat part of Bolingbrook, coupled with the almost complete lack of very tall trees. It's also worth noting that we saw some incredibly bad golf come through while wandering the course. Matthew Wolff was in a group of nobodies playing to empty galleries and was +7 through 5 holes or something at a course that, while it appeared to be in pristine condition and generated no complaints from the players so I'm told, is still a muni course that barely tips out to just over 7,000 yards.

Again it was enjoyable, and I'd definitely go again, but maybe only for one day. Maybe when/if they're playing for OWGR points the playing enthusiasm will get kicked up a notch.

Interesting considering the players basically want to get rid of the individual format altogether and just focus on team competition.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Maybe they do like the team format, but there was nothing approaching cup series vibes from the players on the course. Even Rahm ducked out of the team championships in Dallas.

I agree, I was at the event in Nashville but it seems from the Captains comments that the team format going forward will be more important than Individual.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Tony Finau, come on down! (?)

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Not a mult.

Sure looks that way.

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Lots of buzz about Adam Scott, too.

With the PGA Tour Policy Board changes going into effect after next season, I would not be surprised to see more defections - if only because I think the changes have a LOT to do with the forthcoming agreement with LIV/PIF…OR, some of these players are starting to think that there will be NO agreement anytime soon, so it’s now or never to make the jump.

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Not a mult.

Scott is on the Tour policy board and didn’t even return to Australia to play in their big 2 events the last 2 weeks. I would be shocked if he is going.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Good. I wish he said he pulled out of the Hero due to injury when he actually pulled out.

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It should come as no surprise that, after a run of embarrassing viewership figures, LIV Golf continues to lose badly to the PGA Tour.

According to viewership data compiled by James Colgan of Golf.com, through seven head-to-head Sunday final rounds so far this season, the PGA Tour is averaging 3.10 million viewers per telecast across CBS and NBC while LIV Golf is averaging just 175,000 viewers across Fox, FS1, and FS2. That means, on average, nearly 18 times more viewers are tuning in for the PGA Tour than LIV Golf.

If looking at only LIV’s final rounds that aired on the Fox broadcast network rather than the FS1 cable channel, the PGA Tour is winning by just a factor of 6.5. Across two Sunday telecasts on Fox, LIV Golf is averaging 475,000 viewers. Five final round telecasts on FS1 have averaged a shockingly low 63,000 viewers.

Of course, the PGA Tour has the distinct advantage of airing at roughly the same time, on the same two networks, every weekend. LIV Golf plays tournaments all around the world, meaning that time zone changes from week to week and can often be at inopportune times for the American audience.

Nevertheless, LIV’s paltry viewership so far this season proves that the Fox Sports deal was hardly an antidote for a disinterested American audience. In fact, the rogue tour’s viewership is largely similar to what it was drawing during its first two seasons on The CW.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

LIV Golf's payment structure is shifting, and it's putting top players like Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and others in a tough spot.

Back in 2022, when the Saudi-backed LIV Golf emerged, speculation swirled that players were joining solely for the money. Many were open about it, while others argued that their move was to take the game to a global platform.

Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson and others criticized the PGA Tour's bias, but regardless of the reasoning, LIV's financial backing was something to behold.

According to reports, Phil Mickelson and LIV's five highest-paid players were handed a combined $675 million to leave the PGA Tour.

But that won't be the case moving forward with LIV Golf's new contract renewal decision.

LIV Golfers' contract renewals will not include up-front pay
As per NUCLR Golf's recent post on X, Scott O'Neil's league has announced that contract renewals will no longer include large upfront payments.
While this is standard practice in sports, where re-signing doesn't come with another signing bonus, it's still a major shift for LIV's top players.

Bryson DeChambeau, one of LIV's biggest stars, reportedly received $125 million when he left the PGA Tour. His contract, along with Brooks Koepka's, is set to expire at the end of 2026, while Dustin Johnson's deal ends this year.

Rumors have been flying that Koepka and DeChambeau were considering a return to the PGA Tour. While DeChambeau later confirmed he's staying with LIV, the lack of OWGR points remains a major concern for many players.

LIV Golf has struggled with OWGR recognition since Greg Norman's tenure, and it's had a direct impact on rankings. Even Dustin Johnson, once a dominant force, has rolled down to 594th due to the lack of OWGR points.

If that wasn't enough, LIV Golf recently secured $5 billion in funding, yet it continues to struggle with viewership, even after partnering with FOX Sports.

While players like DeChambeau and Koepka have expressed optimism about LIV's future, the league's growth still lags behind the PGA Tour, especially after failed merger talks with PIF, despite President Donald Trump's involvement.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

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no one keeps receipts quite like Frank. He sits in the shadows and waits to pounce

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I’m starting to wonder about the long term commitment of MBS and the Saudi money machine. How willing are they willing to throw stupid money at, ultimately, fun but stupid things.

Ronaldo is leaving the Saudi league. The LIV guys will start dropping off and haven’t made much progress in changing golf fandom. Neom has nonstop negative news and personnel issues.

Presumably at some point you’d like a return on billions of dollars invested.

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The whole point of all these ventures was presumably to sportswash SA's humanitarian failings, but in 2025 nobody cares about it, so why spend the money.

That’s just something sports people told themselves to make them feel like sports are important.

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Yeah, like the Saudis

LIV golf sucks. They rarely play a marquee course. A lot of times they are on tape delay, or buried on CW or like the eighth backup Fox channel. I can get behind a team event like The Zurich once/twice a year, but every tournament having a team setup is ridiculous. The music is lame and seems forced at times. Anyone who is virtue signaling saying they don't watch/follow LIV because of SOWDI MONIE probably knows what all of the crayons taste like. If the product on the course were better, LIV would have more of a following than it does.

The only thing I like that Live has done is they allow the guys to wear shorts.

As soon as one big name tries to return to the PGA Tour (looking at Brooks and/or Bryson), more dominoes are likely to fall.

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LIV could spice things up if they sign a Bryson-type to a dramatically cheaper deal under implied threat of dismemberment.

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