LIV Golf travels this week to Adelaide, in Australia, where it plans to hold the sixth event of its 2024 calendar. An appointment that kicks off this Friday at the The Grange Golf Club, but which has had an important moment in the preview, with the Spaniard Jon Rahm, one of the big stars of the Saudi tour, and the CEO of the circuit, Greg Norman, sharing a press conference and speaking openly about the many topics of interest that surround golf today.
A few days ago, before playing the Masters, Jon Rahm suggested the possibility that LIV tournaments go from 54 to 72 holes, to adapt to the rest of the circuits (one of the requirements that, among others, made his attempt to distribute world ranking points difficult). Today he has been questioned again on this subject and he has insisted on his idea: “I think it’s what we’re used to seeing in golf. I came to that conclusion and I think it could help many fans to trust a little more in LIV, because there are many complaints I see from people, but I think we can end up being a great product”.
“In football, European football, we have the Premier League, the La Liga, the Bundesliga, the Serie A, the Champions League, the Eurocup… What I’ve realised is that everyone plays by the same rules, while we play with most of the rules, the key difference being the 72 holes”, insisted the one from Barrika. “The only sport I see a bit different, in which it is played more or less the same and then the Grand Slams are different, is tennis. But even within that sport, all tournaments or championships have the same rules. That’s one of the main reasons why I think it could help us”, he detailed.
“But, after all, LIV is a business. If it doesn’t fit the product, it doesn’t fit the product. I’m just a player, there are many people much smarter than me who can understand it and explain why they think 54 holes might be better”, he explained. “From my experience as a player, if you come to see an event, on Sunday you forget that you’ve only played three rounds. There’s no difference. You compete to win. You win or you don’t win. At the end of the day, if I tell you it’s been 54 holes, you don’t think about it because you’re immersed in the competition and that’s the same. If you win in the final stretch with one or two strokes ahead or if you lose, the feelings are the same. That could be an argument against. If you haven’t experienced it and haven’t given it a chance, it’s not fair to judge without knowing”, he concluded.
And what does LIV Golf think about this possibility of extending its tournaments to 72 holes? Its CEO explains: “I think that, from the perspective of LIV, we are very open to it, but you have to understand that putting television on for 72 holes has an economic impact. Right now Jon hits the nail on the head. When you go out on Friday, it’s a sprint to the finish. There’s no warm-up period… I’m speaking from a player’s perspective now. Sometimes you can have a normal first round and then you come back and shoot a 64 and you’re back in, before the weekend. Here, if you don’t play well on Friday, it’s tough because the quality of play, which is very high. The pressure is intense because you have to perform immediately, from the first moment”.
“It’s a great debate that we will continue to have in the future. But we sit down and say: What value do we have in putting television on a Thursday? How do we expand it to the future? How do we bring more people to the golf course? Maybe you allow another 30,000 people to come in on a Thursday. There are things we consider and analyse to see what is the most optimal solution to make this event better and better, and we talk about the 72 holes”, he concluded.
Rumours about McIlroy
In recent days, rumours about a millionaire offer from LIV Golf to Rory McIlroy (it was talked about 850 million dollars) made headlines. Everything points to the Northern Irishman reinforcing his commitment to the PGA Tour by returning to the Board of Directors he once left, as Ten-Golf anticipated. But until today, no one from the Saudi tour had spoken out about it. Norman was quite clear.
“Look, if you look back on those conversations, there was not a single comment from LIV. LIV never made him an offer. We didn’t need to talk about this issue. It’s just the typical noise that sometimes exists in the industry. If Rory were willing to sit down and talk to us, would we be willing? One hundred percent, just like with any other player interested in coming to compete with us”, he said.
“It’s about understanding the facts about what LIV represents and what LIV can offer globally. It’s up to you to determine that. I sat down with one of the best players on the PGA Tour at his home, with another member of my team, to explain the whole process to him, and he was so impressed… He said, ‘well, that’s not what they tell us in the locker room. This is really impressive’. But he made a decision and two days later he told me ‘I’ve decided to stay where I am’. I told him that’s perfect, if he’s happier that way, then he should stay. The door will always be open if he wants to sit down with us”, he concluded.
The calendar Jon Rahm would be willing to
Another of the most interesting moments of this press conference prior to the LIV Golf in Adelaide was when one of the journalists asked Jon Rahm if, in case a global agreement was reached between the different circuits, including the Saudi one, his dream calendar could include 14 LIV tournaments, six from the PGA Tour, the majors and the Ryder Cup.
“I don’t know. That option hasn’t been presented yet, so I don’t know. Right now obviously there are 14 LIV events that I want to play, so that, majors, and Ryder Cup for sure, and after that, yes, there are some PGA Tour events that if they don’t conflict with my LIV calendar I would love to go and play. I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again, Palm Springs, Torrey Pines, Phoenix, LA, if they let me play the PLAYERS. These are events that, if I could, I would love to play”, explained the Spaniard
“I have not been reluctant to play 23 or 24 events a year in the past, especially with my PGA Tour calendar and the DP World Tour calendar. Yes, I would be willing to do it, and I would still try to go and play the Spanish Open and everything I can in Spain, too. That’s what I want to do. If I had the chance, I would try to play all the tournaments I could within my possibilities. I still want to perform at the right times and in the right tournaments”, he concluded.
