LIV The Biggest Impact Since Tiger

“The key is to consistently put yourself in a position to win”. - Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods

The Impact of Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods shook up the world, the golfing world. Before turning pro in 1996, Tiger already had a public profile, at the age of 3 Tiger and his dad were guests on the Mike Douglas Show. His golfing skills were well known, even at that tender age. He set records during his college tenure. On turning professional Tiger Woods made headline news all over the planet.

Nike had just signed a deal with Tiger for $40 million. A stunning contract, considering Tiger had not yet, won as a professional. No one has quite turned the dial like Tiger had. There have been many great golfers since 1996, but none have made the impact of Tiger. Individually, Tiger has made the biggest impact ever.

LIV Golf

LIV Golf began its alternative tour against the PGA in 2022. After two years the impact of LIV upon the world of professional golf has been significant. As viewers, the expectation of being able to see all the top golfers play against each, other week after week, disappeared. It took me sometime to adjust to this new reality. I must admit to losing interest for a while, mainly because names I had grown familiar with, were no longer on my screen.

Phil Mickleson, Brooks Koepka, Kelvin Na, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Joaquin Niemann, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and most recently Jon Rahm, all gone to LIV Golf.

As a long time, viewer, and fan of the PGA Tour it’s upsetting, not having viewer access to fan favourites. I stopped watching.

LPGA

Eventually I decided to watch the LPGA Tour. At least this tour had not been disrupted. I got to know, by sight and name, some of the top women golfers in the world. Lexi Thompson, Megan Khang, Brooke Henderson, Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko, they and many others brought enjoyment to me. I looked forward to up coming LPGA events. It filled a gap, where once The PGA Tour dominated. Now I’m a fan, I will continue to watch the LPGA in future seasons.

Loyal to PGA Tour

When Tiger returned for another one off showing I switched back to the PGA Tour. It piqued my interest again. I saw golfers who were part of my viewing life from years ago, Rory Mcllroy, Rickie Fowler, Stewart Cink, Billy Horschel, Jason Day, Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama. Enough to get me more interested. Still, there were other names, who had been on the tour pre-LIV, but were less prominent in my mind, Keegan Bradley, Tony Finau, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Aaron Baddeley and Cameron Young.

The Next Generation

To me, the new generation of golfers on the PGA Tour, are as skilled and as prepared, to fill the gaps of the great names now with LIV Golf. Scottie Scheffler is top dog for now, he could leave a legacy to match that of Phil Mickleson. After the spell from the PGA, I got to know Victor Hovland, Sahith Theegala, Akshay Bhatia, Ludvig Aberg, Sam Burns and Sunjay Im.

The Impact

For the first time, I recently watched a LIV event held in Chicago, I enjoyed it. I will watch one or two more next season.

Tiger Woods, individual legacy, and impact on golf is the most significant in the modern era. His achievements are on a par with the great Jack Nicklaus. LIV Golf backed by Saudi

Arabia’s PIF has changed the professional golf landscape forever. How it plays out is yet to be seen.

Have fun out there.