The LIV Golf Series is a rival series on the PGA Tour, financed by the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Saudi Arabia. LIV stands for the Roman numeral 54, which is the number of holes in the LIV Golf event.
The series has been under controversy since its announcement in 2019. LIV Golf and the PGA Tour got into a legal battle after PGA Tour officials claimed that LIV was encouraging golfers to violate the terms of their existing contract.
When LIV Golf sued the PGA for blacklisting golfers, the PGA Tour countersued the Saudi-backed start-up for dangling lucrative offers for players.
The battle continues, and both series are making enticing changes so the golfers stay loyal to them.
Despite the controversy, LIV Golf organized a successful event in October with a purse of $255 million. Forty-eight golfers from the World Championships and PGA Tour joined hands with LIV to make the event a success.
The 2022 season was livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, and now officials are planning to sign a deal with the broadcasting network.
A quick recap of the LIV Golf Championship
LIV Golf's CEO, Greg Norman, has offered a lucrative contract to pro golf players. While top-ranked players turned down the offer, some accepted.
The series has attracted players by offering them an undeniable contract for a really good amount.
The first season featured 48 players in the 54-hole tournament and was offered direct entry without any cuts.
Twelve teams with four players each competed in a competition with prize money of $255 million for eight tournaments.
The first seven events had a purse of $20 million each, and an additional $5 million was given to the top three teams each week.
The event started on July 11 in England and concluded on October 30 in Miami, with team 4 Aces GC lifting the inaugural season trophy.
Teams that competed in the first season of LIV Golf
- 4 Aces GC
- Cleeks GC
- Crusher GC
- Fireball GC
- HY Flyers GC
- Iron Heads GC
- Majesticks GC
- Niblicks GC
- Punch GC
- Smash GC
- Stinger GC
- Torque GC
2022 LIV Golf Invitational Series Award
- Individual Champion: Dustin Johnson
- Team Champions: 4 Aces GC
- Money Winner: Dustin Johnson
Golfers who signed contracts with LIV Golf
- Shergo Al Kurdi
- Abraham Ancer
- Oliver Bekker
- Richard Bland
- Itthipat Buranatanyarat
- Laurie Canter
- Paul Casey
- Eugenio Chacarra
- Ratchanon Chantananuwat
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Hennie du Plessis
- Oliver Fisher
- Sergio García
- Branden Grace
- Talor Gooch
- Justin Harding
- Sam Horsfield
- Charles Howell III
- Yuki Inamori
- Dustin Johnson
- Matt Jones
- Sadom Kaewkanjana
- Martin Kaymer
- Phachara Khongwatmai
- Sihwan Kim
- Ryosuke Kinoshita
- Brooks Koepka
- Chase Koepka
- Jason Kokrak
- Jinichiro Kozuma
- Anirban Lahiri
- Pablo Larrazábal
- Marc Leishman
- Viraj Madappa
- Graeme McDowell
- Phil Mickelson
- Jediah Morgan
- Kevin Na
- Joaquín Niemann
- Shaun Norris
- Andy Ogletree
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Wade Ormsby
- Carlos Ortiz
- Adrián Otaegui
- Pat Perez
- Turk Pettit
- James Piot
- Ian Poulter
- David Puig
- Patrick Reed
- J. C. Ritchie
- Charl Schwartzel
- Cameron Smith
- Travis Smyth
- Ian Snyman
- Henrik Stenson
- Hudson Swafford
- Hideto Tanihara
- Cameron Tringale
- Peter Uihlein
- Harold Varner III
- Scott Vincent
- Bubba Watson
- Lee Westwood
- Bernd Wiesberger
- Blake Windred
- Matthew Wolff
- Kevin Yuan