Will Greg Norman’s stance on retracting the Official World Golf Ranking appeal for ranking points prove to be a mess for LIV Golf and its players’ future? It likely will. Last year in October, the OWGR rejected the plea of the 54 LIV Golf players for the ranking system. Following this, Greg Norman also retracted the further appeal in March 2024, stating that the LIV pros deserved better. One of the reasons why the OWGR couldn’t allow ranking points for the LIV field was the 54-hole events instead of 72. However, the league has been adamant about not changing the rule.
Even though their key player, Jon Rahm, opined that it would benefit the league, the Bleacher Report quoted the Spaniard saying in April, “If there ever was a way where LIV could go to 72 holes, I think it would help all of this argument a lot.” He further added that he wouldn’t mind going back to the traditional format, which may ease many issues with LIV Golf—not only the OWGR but also those related to majors. When majors mean more to players than LIV Golf events, the Great White Shark should consider ways to secure a better pathway for them.
After winning his second LIV Golf event in Greenbrier this season, Brooks Koepka was asked if he thought his season was better overall. But to everyone’s surprise, the 5-time major winner didn’t agree and said, “The four majors were pretty disappointing,” hence his season was as well. So despite getting the two LIV wins, Koepka was not satisfied, highlighting how majors are far more important for golfers.
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via Reuters
Golf – LIV Golf League – Hong Kong – Hong Kong Golf Club, Hong Kong – March 10, 2024 Legion XIII’s Jon Rahm in action during the third round REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Thus, if Greg Norman remains fixated on the OWGR stance and disregards the chance to change the league’s format, it will be an even bigger hassle in the future for the 54 players to qualify for the majors, as it already has been. But that’s not the only issue knocking on Norman’s door. There’s more that changing the format and improving investment could do for the breakaway circuit.
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Greg Norman hits with a haunting viewership of LIV Golf Greenbrier
Whether it’s the PGA Tour or LIV Golf, dropped ratings have been a curse following the golf world this season. But it might be worse for the breakaway circuit than for the PGA Tour. Comparatively, the Tour’s St. Jude Championship attracted 2.2 million viewers, although it was a whopping 1 million decline from last year; on the other hand, LIV Golf did not cross 200k.
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Per the TV Sports Rating, LIV Golf Greenbrier had 136k viewers on Saturday and 165k viewers on Sunday tuned in on CW Network. This is a drastic difference between the PGA Tour’s ratings and LIV Golf’s CW Network, clearly showing that the disruptive league is struggling. The solution? The 2-time US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau suggested that the league should partner with a broadcaster. In an interview with GOLF Magazine, he said, “It’s important [TV partner], but they don’t really listen to me on that.”
Another solution awaiting the Norman-led league is the PIF and PGA Tour merger, which has been inadvertently delayed. DeChambeau has also emphasized the need for the merger and explained that if he could, he would’ve called the PGA Tour and asked for a meeting to finalize the merger. Even the PGA Tour pro, Rory McIlroy opined for the unification of the men’s field and explained that it would be better for both fronts. Currently, neither the merger nor the OWGR is going Greg Norman’s way. And with their hesitancy to tweak the format, LIV Golf’s future remains surrounded by more problems than any solution in sight.
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