LIV

LIV (pronounced "lihv", as in "live free" or "living") is a new golf series that holds tournaments at Trump-owned golf courses, which the PGA Tour shamefully boycotts in order to pander to the anti-Trump liberal media. The full name of LIV is "LIV Golf Invitational Series."

The LIV roster of players includes "21 of the last 51 winners of the four Majors."^[1] The quality of its tournaments is thus comparable to that of PGA Tour events, and yet LIV is locked out of television contracts by the liberal media. LIV golfers also appear shut out of the future major tournaments: "Currently, and rather worryingly, players on the controversial upstart [LIV] do not have a pathway to qualify for golf's four major championships and the Olympics."^[2]

As reported by Yahoo!Sports on October 19, 2022:

“

Though LIV Golf has lured ... 12 players currently ranked in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings, there are still plenty of issues with the startup circuit. Golfers still can’t earn OWGR [ranking] points, so they are continuously falling in the rankings. There is no television deal yet, either, despite reports that LIV was actually going to pay Fox Sports to start airing tournaments.

”

LIV events enable close interaction between golfers and fans, and include more general entertainment than PGA events. In many ways LIV imitates Trump's glitzy style. LIV players tend to be more social and congenial, attending pre-tournament parties and being more than golfers.

NBA great and golf commentator Charles Barkley, who is left-of-center politically with an independent streak, defends LIV but ultimately did not agree on terms to be a commentator for it.

The LIV ends the liberal PGA Tour monopoly over professional golf, as should be done to other sports monopolies such as the corrupt, liberal NFL. In addition to its pro-freedom or even a coincidental pro-life connotation, LIV is the Roman numeral for 54, representing the number of holes played in each event. Saudi Arabian money initially funds, reportedly in a total amount of $2 billion, this LIV group of top players and tournament prize money. There are prizes for individual and team performance.

The roster for 2023 is 48 players, which is expected to be filled with announcements on or about July 20, 2022, upon which the field will be "closed".^[3]

As of July 19, 2022, a total of 17 top players in the PGA Tour had signed up with LIV, and by July 20, 48 players overall (including many players formerly in the European tour) have joined it.

The last week of July 2022 Charles Barkley predicted that LIV would have a television contract by the end of the year.^[4] Others are skeptical amid the prevalence of Trump-haters in the liberal media.

Trump Golf Course Tournaments

LIV holds tournaments at Trump-owned golf courses, in contrast with the media-controlled PGA's boycott of Trump (and even withdrawing a tournament from a Trump course).

The first LIV Golf Invitational Bedminster was held on July 29-31 in New Jersey.^[5] Prize money for this Bedminster tournament is $25 million, far more than the $14 million in prize money for the British Open (Open Championship). Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson won this tournament with its remarkable $4 million top prize, and was photoed afterwards with Trump wearing his MAGA hat while congratulating him.^[6]

In addition, LIV has already sold out its final tournament of the 2022 season at the Trump Dural golf course in Miami, October 27-30.^[7]

Players

In August 2022, the #2 player in the world, Cameron Smith, joined LIV.^[8] Previously, as of July 28, 2022, winners of 9 of the last 19 Masters have joined LIV.^[9] In addition to Cameron Smith, five out of the top 11 golfers had joined LIV as of July 15, 2022:^[10]

Dustin Johnson
Brooks Koepka^[11]
Talor Gooch
Bryson DeChambeau
Lee Westwood
Ian Poulter

Also, one of biggest names in all of golf joined LIV: 51-year-old Phil Mickelson.^[12] Dustin Johnson and Mickelson are T8 and T26 for most PGA Tour wins, with 45 and 24 career victories, respectively.^[13] Crowd favorite Sergio Garcia, an 11-time PGA and 16-time DP winner, has also joined LIV.^[14]

Reportedly 2-time Masters winner Bubba Watson -- a Greatest Conservative Sports Star is joining LIV for the 2023 season.

The inaugural tournament has a 54-hole, no-cut, stroke-play format of continuous play such that all are competing at the same time by starting at different holes. The field of 48 features four of the current OWGR top 50:

13. Dustin Johnson
20. Louis Oosthuizen
33. Kevin Na
35. Talor Gooch^[15]

Roster for LIV and its Bedminster tournament

The full 48-player roster for LIV and its Bedminster tournament (July 29-31, 2022) is as follows:^[16]

Major winners

Cameron Smith, British Open winner in 2022
Bryson DeChambeau
Dustin Johnson (estimated $125M compensation by LIV)
Sergio Garcia
Martin Kaymer
Brooks Koepka
Graeme McDowell
Phil Mickelson (estimated $200M compensation by LIV - double his lifetime earnings on the PGA Tour)
Louis Oosthuizen
Patrick Reed
Charl Schwartzel
Henrik Stenson (estimated $50M signing bonus by LIV, and then he won the top prize of $4M at his first LIV tournament at Trump's course in Bedminster)

PGA Tour winners

Paul Casey
Talor Gooch
Branden Grace
Charles Howell III
Matt Jones
Jason Kokrak
Kevin Na
Carlos Ortiz
Pat Perez
Ian Poulter
Hudson Swafford
Lee Westwood
Matthew Wolff

No major or PGA Tour wins

Abraham Ancer
Richard Bland
Laurence "Laurie" Canter (English)
Eugenio Chacarra
Hennie du Plessis
Justin Harding
Sam Horsfield
Yuki Inamori
Sadom Kaewkanjana
Phachara Khongwatmai
Ryosuke Kinoshita
Chase Koepka
Jinichiro Kozuma
Jediah Morgan
Shaun Norris
Wade Ormsby
Turk Pettit
James Piot
David Puig (am)
Travis Smyth
Hideto Tanihara
Peter Uihlein
Scott Vincent
Bernd Wiesberger

Management

The famous golfer and longtime Republican Greg Norman is the CEO of LIV, and is known for being pro-player and not one to pander to the liberal media.

The fabled globalist consulting firm, McKinsey & Co., reportedly advised LIV as to its business model.^[17]

Broadcasters

As of July 18, LIV tournaments have been viewable only through online live streaming. Commentators have included Arlo White, the former NBC commentator for the British soccer Premier League, as well as former Golf Channel analysts Jerry Foltz and Dom Boulet.^[18] It has been reported that David Feherty is leaving NBC/Golf Channel in order to accept a job as an announcer with LIV.^[18]

Supporters

Charles Barkley has made public comments supportive of LIV, and played on the pro-am day just prior to the LIV tournament at Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey golf course.

Fan favorite John Daly, a two-time major tournament, has publicly praised LIV even though not invited to join it.^[19]