LIV Golf opts for policy of quiet confidence that its team format is here to stay, despite assumptions after PGA deal
- Refusal to become embroiled in a public ‘he said, she said’ exchange with those on the PGA Tour’s side highlights belief in their process, they say
- As the circuit nears the end of its second season, plans for growth remain in full swing
Confidence has never been an issue for those responsible for LIV Golf; certainly the belief needed to take on the world’s established tours required it 13 months ago, and on the evidence of last week’s event in London it has only increased since then.
Roaring successes in Adelaide and Valderrama this season, and the crowds who watched Cameron Smith win at Centurion Club in Hemel Hempstead, have given the league a very public boost, while the impending partnership between Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the PGA Tour merely underlined its influence in the game.
Not that you would necessarily know it. While the framework agreement has been trumpeted as a victory for the establishment, and in some cases used as evidence of the impending demise of the new circuit, those controlling the purse strings have stayed silent.
That choice not to get into a “he said, she said” back-and-forth was a deliberate decision, according to a LIV executive who discussed the matter during the tournament at Centurion Club over the weekend.
“We didn’t say anything because we didn’t feel the need to say anything,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We run golf events, we think they’re pretty good and we’ve got great players and we want to keep the focus on that.”
The naming of PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan as the CEO of the new organisation and PIF boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan as chairman of a board dominated by PGA voices has previously been leapt on as evidence that LIV’s days were numbered.
