LIV Golf: Was Year One A Success?

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Hey Friends,

LIV Golf is undoubtedly one of the biggest sports stories this year.

Backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — the world’s 6th largest sovereign wealth fund with nearly $600 billion in assets under management — the upstart golf league promised to change how professional golf looks, feels, and operates.

They introduced a new format: 48 players competing for $25 million in prize money in a 54-hole stroke play format with no cut. And they started handing out hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed money.

LIV Golf’s Guaranteed Contract Payments to Top Players 

• Phil Mickelson: $200 million+  

• Dustin Johnson: $150 million

• Brooks Koepka: $150 million

• Bryson DeChambeau: $125 million+ 

• Cameron Smith: $100 million+

But with one year down and eight tournaments to analyze, was it successful?

(Photo: Patrick Reed tees off on the first hole at Trump Bedminster in July via NY Times)

Well, that’s a loaded question. There were some big moments, like when Dustin Johnson made a 35-foot eagle putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the LIV Golf Invitational-Boston for his first victory in 19 months. Or when they signed Cameron Smith, the #2 ranked player in the world, just weeks after he won the 150th Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland.

But from a financial perspective, it’s hard to argue that LIV golf was successful.

For example, LIV Golf didn’t sign a media rights deal or agree to terms with a single sponsor during its first year. And considering most sports leagues like this make little to no money on ticket sales and merchandise, LIV Golf will likely take a very sizable loss on the reported $800 million they spent in year one.

LIV Golf Average Viewership on YouTube 

• London: 104,000

• Portland: 90,000

• Bedminster: 76,000

• Boston: 117,000

• Chicago: 61,000

• Bangkok: 21,000

• Jeddah: 27,000

• Miami: 40,000

• Total Average: 67,000

And these problems might only worsen — LIV Golf is set to expand from 8 events to 14 and increase prize money from $255 million to $405 million next year.

But still, when you push financials to the side, you could argue LIV was very successful. They signed popular players like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cameron Smith. They held eight tournaments in four different countries, grew their social media accounts to nearly 1 million followers, and now have more than 125 employees across three global offices.

Top 10 Prize Earners In LIV Golf’s Inaugural Year

So while LIV Golf may not have had immense financial success in year one, they undoubtedly built a strong foundation for the future. Of course, many people still believe Saudi Arabia is simply using the organization to clean up its global image (more on that here), but when you combine political motivation towards the Western world with a bottomless pit of cash, LIV Golf suddenly looks dangerous.

Remember, Saudi Arabia has made it clear that this is part of a five, seven, and ten-year plan — aka they aren’t worried about their profit or loss in year one.

So we’ll see what happens. The good news is that the emergence of LIV Golf has forced the PGA Tour to improve its product, but my gut tells me this is something we will continue to talk about for years to come.

Have a great day. I’ll talk to everyone tomorrow.

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