LIV Golf appears to have lost its ability to sign the biggest names in the sport.
When the Saudi-backed league exploded onto the golfing scene in 2022 and threatened the PGA Tour’s very existence, it was able to recruit superstars. Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka were among the stars to sign multi-million dollar deals to play on LIV.
Since then, Cameron Smith and Jon Rahm signed, leaving PGA Tour fans increasingly concerned that, gradually, the biggest names in golf will all succumb to the eye-watering cash sums being thrown their way and unite with LIV Golf.
The last two seasons have quieted those fears. LIV has failed to recruit anyone of note, and Koepka became the first star name to jump ship and return to the PGA Tour. Even negotiations with Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im fell through for LIV.
The biggest name to sign this offseason was probably 2009 US Amateur champion Byeong-hun An, who has never won on the PGA Tour. Despite that, golf analyst Rex Hoggard said from a certain perspective, LIV won the offseason.
The reason why LIV Golf might have had a better offseason than the PGA Tour
While LIV has failed to make any big-time signings, they have landed a number of high-potential young players to fill out its roster.
Reigning NCAA champion Michael La Sasso joined Mickelson’s HyFlyers, and Laurie Canter decided to sign with LIV after just earning his PGA Tour card on the DP World Tour.
Hoggard said that in some people’s minds, bringing in this young talent outweighs the loss of Koepka, who has been out of form since joining LIV.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, he explained: “We’ve seen players go both ways. And when you sit and have the conversation over the last few days, it’s a handful of players.
“You have Thomas Detry, and now you have Michael La Sasso going to LIV. Coming from LIV off to the PGA Tour is Brooks Koepka. I don’t really know how to judge that.
“I don’t know how to because if we were doing this as an NFL Draft, or better yet as an NFL trade, and it’s one team or another, and one team gave up Brooks to get these three players.
“All young players, clearly not the stars that Brooks is, but you’re probably long-term getting better potential because these are three young players with a lot of potential.
“You could make an argument, at least in this NFL scenario, that that team got the better end of the trade. But in golf it’s not even a close argument. Everyone’s saying that the PGA Tour, as I said earlier, has all the leverage. That’s fascinating to me.”
There is a world where Koepka doesn’t recapture the form that made him a five-time major winner, and LIV’s young players become superstars at the major championships. And if that happens, we might look back on this winter favourably for LIV.
Why LIV Golf is the best place for young players to develop
There are several key reasons young players are opting to play on LIV rather than the PGA Tour.
The first is the money. Guaranteed money is hard to come by for up-and-coming players, and LIV offers security for these players who don’t know how long they’ll be able to retain their tour cards.
LIV also offers a guaranteed schedule. As the PGA Tour shortens its field, it’s becoming harder for young players to get spots in the biggest events of the year. Meanwhile, on LIV, they know exactly when and where they’ll be playing all season.
And perhaps most importantly for their development, young players can work alongside legends of the game and lean on their wisdom.
La Sasso is now a teammate of Mickelson, meaning he’ll be able to learn from one of the greatest players in the sport’s history and take key lessons from the six-time major winner all season. That’s a big advantage of LIV’s team format for these young players.
The PGA Tour’s traditional, individual format doesn’t reward the same collaboration, so LIV has a real advantage there. That may help their recruitment for years to come, and give them an edge years down the line.
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