LIV Golf Reshapes Sport While Merger Talks Drag
As negotiations to reunify men’s professional golf continue at a sluggish pace, Saudi-backed LIV Golf is forging ahead with an ambitious vision to transform the traditionally conservative sport into a Formula 1-style entertainment spectacle. CEO Scott O’Neil revealed that the upstart tour is deliberately targeting a younger, more diverse audience with a festival-like atmosphere surrounding its tournaments.
“The golf is who we are, but it’s really about the festival around golf that makes us different,” O’Neil said during a fireside chat at CONVERGE LIVE, according to CNBC. “You can bring your family, you can bring a date, you can bring friends.”
Formula 1 as the Model
O’Neil explicitly pointed to Formula 1 racing as the blueprint for LIV’s approach, describing F1 as “the only truly global sports league” and comparing LIV’s pre-tournament experience to the hospitality setup around an F1 pit. The comparison is particularly notable as both sports have cultivated high-end experiences that attract affluent spectators while simultaneously working to broaden their appeal.
At a recent event in Miami, LIV supplemented its golf tournament with music, art, and food festivals to ensure a comprehensive entertainment experience. The company’s inaugural event in Singapore, which began Friday, features a DJ to enhance the atmosphere, signaling LIV’s commitment to differentiating itself from traditional golf tournaments.
The strategy appears to be finding success in attracting new audiences. O’Neil revealed that 30% of LIV tournament attendees had never previously attended a golf event, and the average age of spectators is 15 years younger than at competing tournaments. “So in terms of reaching a new audience, introducing more people to the game, I think we’re a pretty interesting study,” he noted.
Dustin Johnson shot a bogey free 8 under 63 to lead LIV Golf Singapore by 3 shots at Sentosa. DJ came last week in Hong Kong and had quickly turned that form around. Good to see him playing well
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) March 14, 2025
pic.twitter.com/cKjSARR5qh
Merger Negotiations Continue
While LIV pushes forward with its entertainment-focused model, efforts to resolve the schism in men’s professional golf continue without a clear resolution timeline. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan acknowledged that “some hurdles remain” in negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which finances LIV Golf, despite a meeting at the White House last month facilitated by President Donald Trump.
“We’re doing everything we can to bring the two sides together,” Monahan said at a news conference ahead of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, as reported by the BBC. “That said, we will not do so in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and partners.”
Monahan confirmed that President Trump’s involvement had “significantly bolstered” the discussions and made a truce “very real,” though no deadline has been established for completing the deal initially announced in June 2023. The PGA Tour, represented by Monahan, player director Adam Scott, and 15-time major winner Tiger Woods, held what were described as “constructive talks” with LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and President Trump on February 21.
Division’s Impact on Competition
The ongoing split in professional golf, which began with LIV’s controversial launch in 2022, means that many of the world’s best players rarely compete against each other. LIV has reportedly invested nearly £5 billion (£3.8 billion) to sign high-profile players including Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, and Brooks Koepka.
In response, the PGA Tour banned LIV participants from its events, leaving the four major championships—The Masters, PGA Championship, Open Championship, and US Open—as the only individual strokeplay events where all top golfers can compete together.
This fragmentation has frustrated fans eager to see the world’s best players regularly challenge each other. When asked if players shared this frustration, Monahan pivoted to highlight the strength of the PGA Tour: “Our players are excited by the strength of the tour, their involvement in the leadership and the evolution we’re in the midst of.”
As LIV continues to evolve its Formula 1-inspired approach while merger talks proceed at a measured pace, golf finds itself at a crucial juncture. The sport is balancing traditional values with innovation, exclusivity with accessibility, and competition with cooperation—all while navigating complex commercial and political interests shaping its future.
