LIVing on Borrowed Time?

By Terry Moore

As one might say about a struggling player on the back nine, the LIV Tour is leaking oil. Recent news about the controversial golf circuit, financed by The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), is far from encouraging.

Last month, five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, one of the high-profile defections from the PGA Tour, decided to leave LIV and return to the PGA Tour. After he agreed to several "penalties," Keopka was welcomed back into the fold. After the official announcement, the PGA Tour promptly included Koepka in its television promos.

And although he missed the cut in his second tournament, Koepka's presence helped drive viewer interest. In fact, TV ratings for the Tour got off to a sizzling start. Both the American Express, won by Scottie Schleffer, and the Farmers Insurance Open, won by Justin Rose, had spikes in ratings. At the Farmers, where Koepka made the cut, CBS ratings were the best in six years, and the final round was up 70 percent from last year. Those are numbers loved by sponsors.

Brooks Koepka | courtesy of the PGA TOUR

Second, Pat Reed also announced he's returning to the PGA Tour. The former Masters champion with the checkered past took the big dough to play on LIV in 2022. Although he was part of seven team victories, he had only one individual win on LIV, the 2025 Dallas event.  

 But recently, Reed has been playing outstanding golf. He won twice in three weeks at DP World Tour stops in the Middle East, taking the Qatar Masters and the Dubai Desert Classic. In between these tournaments, he lost in a playoff at the Bahrain Championship. As importantly, his play means Reed has almost secured finishing inside the top 10 on the DP Tour by year's end, meaning he'll earn a PGA Tour card with higher playing privileges than what he would've had as a past champion member.

Reed is not expected to rejoin the PGA Tour until sometime this Fall. As with Koepka, I'll look forward to seeing Reed compete. He possesses an amazing short game, and that's why he's usually one of my Masters picks. A few years ago, he tied the Masters record for fewest putts in the tournament with 101. He's not only an elite putter, but he's one of the best chippers in the game. His reputation took a hit when he seemed to play too carelessly in certain rules situations. Some of it was justified; some was not.

I, for one, would love to see him compete in the Ryder Cup, assuming he makes the team. He's fiery and rock-solid, even in hostile environments.

In a related development regarding the LIV Tour, the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) board revealed two weeks ago its decision to award LIV players points for the first time. Previously, LIV players earned no points when competing in its tournaments. When looking at LIV's previous 54-hole events and the static nature of how players maintain their standing on the Tour, the OWGR didn't feel points were warranted compared to other Tours around the globe.

To its credit, LIV expanded its tournaments to 72-holes and also mandated certain playing standards to maintain status on the Tour. But in its decision, the OWGR will award points to LIV players only if they finish in the top ten for the week. Its reasoning was that LIV tournaments usually have only 57 players competing, whereas the ranking body requires a minimum of 75 players.

Upon hearing the news, a few of LIV's prominent players were pleased to finally be included for points, but some still voiced dismay. Jon Rahm led off by saying, "I don't like how we're not being treated the same as every other tour. It seems like the rules that have been in place don't really apply to us, with only 10 of us getting points."

These points are critical for LIV players earning their way into the majors, assuming they're not former champions and have full or limited exemptions (like Reed for the Masters or Koepka for the PGA and the US Open).

But Rahm remained hopeful by saying, "But I'm thankful that LIV Golf got their foot in the door, and there's a possibility for us to walk into the room and be recognized as a tour, as we should be."

The next big question is whether the PIF sees a promising future for LIV after its billions of dollars in investment. Besides Rahm, the only other player that 'stirs the drink' is Bryson DeChambeau. Reportedly, his re-upping with LIV could be worth $1 billion! 

To most observers of sound mind and still able to fog a mirror, that's a ridiculous sum of money.

In a recent column, Golfweek's Nick Rodger made this telling quote:

"The outlay on the golf project, under LIV chairman and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, is estimated at $6 billion. It’s an extraordinary amount for, essentially, a series of exhibitions devoid of any competitive relevance."

A member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, Terry Moore can be reached at terry50moore@gmail.com