LIV Golf looked to change the sport forever by offering big money to the biggest stars and creating a fast-paced, modern product to inspire the next generation of golf fans. But after 2025, it’s clear the PGA Tour is winning this battle.
No LIV players won a major last year, only three of their players made the Ryder Cup, and the tour failed to make any headline signings over the offseason. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour goes from strength to strength, and LIV’s total losses now equate to over $1 billion.
That’s led McIlroy to wonder if the Saudi PIF, which also owns Newcastle United, could learn something from the football club to save its LIV venture.
Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images© HITC (UK)
What the LIV Golf should learn from Newcastle United, according to Rory McIlroy
McIlroy said that one of LIV’s biggest mistakes is spending money recklessly, and they’d have been better off using a more sustainable model, as they were forced to with Newcastle United.
He said to the Stick to Football podcast, “I think about this, they’ve spent billions on LIV, the PIF and Saudis, and then I look at what they’ve done with Newcastle, for example.
“This is the other thing I’ve thought about. There’s financial regulations around football, right? So it’s not as if they can just go out and spend 5 billion, but in golf, they could.
“I just think what they’ve done in Newcastle, and I would say they’ve done a great job from where Newcastle were to where they are now. I think if they had just approached the golf in a similar way, we wouldn’t be at this point.
“But we are, and it’s hard. But the thing that it’s done is it’s elevated the majors, and it’s elevated the Ryder Cup because it’s the only four or five times a year you see all the best players playing together.
“I think for golf to be relevant, I think we need the best players together more often than that.”
Why Rory McIlroy is right about LIV Golf and Newcastle United
LIV Golf went against everything that they initially stood for this offseason by changing their format. LIV was named after its new 54-hole format, which saw events played over three days. But in an attempt to secure Official World Golf Ranking points, they have now moved to the more traditional 72-holes.
LIV has backed itself into a corner with its spending, to the point where the tour needs to see results, and quickly, to survive.
To have spent that amount of money and still be streets behind the PGA Tour has put the Saudi-backed league in a position to where they have to go against their entire philosophy.
If they’d have taken McIlroy’s advice and grown sustainably, these desperate measures might not have been necessary. They could have grown organically and naturally attracted the biggest names in the game over a decade.
That would have put them in better favour with the golfing world, and they’d have been far more likely to secure OWGR points eventually. But by rocking the boat, LIV finds itself in an impossible position.
But with the money they have spent, it’s too late to change their model. They may be forced to spend their way out of the situation, and risk sinking the business entirely.
