LIV Golf is back with a bang after a two week break with its event scheduled to take place in Jeddah, KSA….but it comes with a twist. Rather than the tournament in Jeddah (which happens to be LIV’s home ground) being the final event on the season calendar, the season finale will be played in Miami. The original schedule had the LIV Golf Invitational Miami as its penultimate event for the team championship plays.
LIV Golf Jeddah was initially scheduled to take place in November (1st-3rd), but according to the new schedule, it will be played from October 13th -15th. Thus, Jeddah will be the final competition for the individual championship for this season, setting the stage for the LIV Golf Invitational in Miami. What may seem as confusing and a desperate response to the LIV-PGAT merger, holds immense potential and power for LIV Golf and its stronghold in the sport. Will this decision give the much needed push that the Saudi backed league requires?
The Change That Will Be the End-All For LIV Golf?
Although LIV Golf had an outstanding first season, given the brutal backlash, lawsuits and public scrutiny, the future of the Saudi-backed league post the sensational $3 billion merger, remains uncertain. As does the foothold of the CEO Greg Norman.
LIV has always struggled with screen time and broadcasting when it comes to its events. With big broadcasting networks refusing to air its tournaments and the constant backlash from die-hard golf traditionalists and fans, LIV Golf is running out of options. Given that its event at the Trump National Doral in Miami last year had the most amount of attendees, LIV Golf might be aiming to repeat history by shifting its final team championship event of the year to Florida. Although, there has been no statement from Norman or the Saudi PIF regarding the same, but this decision might just give LIV Golf the sensational push that it so needs.
The Revolutionary Season Ending LIV Team Championship Format
Instead of the usual four teams competing at the LIV Golf’s season finale tournament in Jeddah, this year all 12 teams and 48 players will play for the $50 million team championship title in Miami, including those eliminated in the quarterfinals on Friday. This will ensure that all the golfers get to play twice, thereby enhancing fan experience in the final round.
The Team Championship format is as follows:
Friday, October 20th – Quarterfinals
The top 4 teams will get a bye. The remaining teams (5-12) will go into a head to head match-play, with the highest ranked team selecting their opponents. All 32 players from Teams 5-12 will play simultaneously in a shotgun start in 3 matches: two single matches and 1 foursomes match. There will be no ties, so the matches will go on until a winner is determined. One match win amounts to one point. The first team to win 2 points will move on to the semi-final round.
Saturday, October 21st – Semi-Finals
The teams that received a bye (1-4) will compete with the winning teams from the previous day. Highest ranked teams will choose their opponents. The format for the day remains the same as the quarterfinals. The four teams who manage to grab 2 points will qualify as the top four after Sunday’s final round. Wheras, the remaining teams will finish at positions 5-8 accordingly on the final leaderboard. And the teams which were eliminated in the quarterfinals, will occupy 9-12 positions after Sunday’s final.
Sunday, October 22nd – Final
All the players from the 12 teams will play in one-round of stroke play. All 4 individual scores will add up towards the team score. The 4 teams that won in the semi-finals will compete for 1st-4th place, wheras the 4 teams that were eliminated in the semi-finals will vie for 5th-8th place. And the 4 teams that were eliminated in the quarterfinals on Friday, will vie for positions 9th-12th on the leaderboard.
LIV Golf has had a stellar year with Brooks Koepka setting the record of being the first LIV golfer to win a major, with Phil Mickelson finishing in at a close second at the Masters. Add to that its success in Australia, LIV Golf is soaring high; it just needs to establish strong roots on the ground. Will this move help change the perspective on LIV Golf? Only time will tell.
