LALI STANDER: LIV Golf hits hole-in-one with Australian showpiece

The LIV Golf show veered south of the equator in April and the Down Under edition, by all accounts, was a roaring and rather boozy success. Huge crowds lined the fairways at The Grange Club in Adelaide where the action was typically fast and furious, and everyone left in a daze of bliss and delight. 

Hmm, except maybe back-to-back winner, Talor Gooch. The American was rather upset that Australia’s taxman was entitled to nearly half of his $4m pay cheque.  

The Australian showpiece was, I imagine, everything LIV had been hoping to achieve since it was launched two years ago.  

The US-based LIV events barely managed to get off the ground, with small crowds and a minor television deal hardly moving the needle when up against the might of the PGA Tour. In Europe, the crowds were consistently bigger, but Australia proved one thing … taking the game to the people made some noise, and for once it was the right kind.   

Successfully staging a LIV Golf event in golf-starved Australia was achieved either through a strategic masterstroke or — more likely — by falling bum backwards into it. Either way, the organisers have stumbled upon a blueprint that might just keep the breakaway tour alive longer than its ageing members.  

Australia rarely attracts any of the world’s top non-Aussie golfers — outside The Presidents Cup every 12 years or so — but in Adelaide, the crowds came flocking.  

It shouldn’t really be a surprise. The country has a rich tradition of producing great golfers on the PGA Tour. As a destination, it has also been overlooked by the Tour, though, despite its stated desire to grow the game worldwide. So, when LIV rolled into town, Aussies embraced the opportunity to watch some world-class golfers in action. And some others.

Of course, the Greg Norman factor did not hurt. Aussies will always see Norman as a swashbuckling hero and the people of South Australia welcomed him like the prodigal son. Welcome home Greg, and thanks for bringing all your friends with you. 

LIV golf had already expanded its 2023 schedule to 14 events and four new countries, including Australia, Singapore, Mexico and Spain. After the Adelaide success, rumours are circulating that LIV is exploring other Australian destinations, such as Western Australia. Perth is home to many fine courses and, like Adelaide, has also been without any big golf events for decades. It would be a sell-out within hours. 

And that would be true for many other destinations in the world. If LIV were interested in making a financial success out of the tour — and I’m not entirely convinced that is the case — it should be furiously scouting far-flung venues across the globe.  

Let’s look at other places that the PGA Tour has ignored. Africa is an obvious example. The DP World Tour has been invested in SA going on two decades, yet the best local fans can hope for is the Nedbank Golf Challenge. Still a fantastic event, but sadly it no longer attracts the world’s superstar golfers. Would you pay top dollar to see the likes of Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith or Brooks Koepka in the flesh? I know many people who would.  

Young studs

The fairly large contingent of popular SA players on the LIV Golf Tour would drum up a fair bit of interest — and probably host the opening night braai.  

Right, where else? How about South America? When was the last time a tournament of any significance was played there? With young studs Joaquin Niemann and Mito Perreira leading the charge, Chile would be a fine place to start, but they could do a lot worse than Argentina too — the country of Roberto de Vincenzo and Angel Cabrera. 

While the PGA Tour has strong ties with Asia, particularly the likes of Thailand, China, Korea and Japan, a LIV stop in India would be something brilliant. 

It would be quite the cultural awakening for many of the players who are used to playing in the same country — the US — all year round and I dare say it would be a fillip for the game on the subcontinent, which continues to produce some fine players.  

The best part of this plan is that the LIV players are guaranteed to pitch up. No more excuses about long flights or wanting to be on holiday — when Greg says fly, they fly. Beause that is what their contracts say.