Former Presidents Cup captain Ernie Els proposed collaboration between LIV Golf and major tours. He said that LIV can hold competitions during the “dead season” for golf, while the major tours are mostly inactive.
“But three months of that,” Els said to the interviewers. “I think that’s enough of that. Then come back to play real golf.”
Els suggests that the major tours focus on holding tournaments during the peak season. The peak season for golf usually happens to start at the beginning of the year to mid-August. After that period, other sports events like the NFL, are more prominent on television. Thus, major tours will not get the publicity they need.
This suggestion came after the news of Henrik Stenson being forced to step down from his captain position at the European Ryder Cup. Stenson had participated in LIV Golf events and the major tour gave him a penalty for that participation.
There has been tension between LIV Golf and PGA Tour, the managing body for the European Ryder Cup, for a while. Stenson’s case is not the first clash between these two golf event organizers. A few months ago, the PGA Tour penalized several golfers for joining LIV events. The penalties include fines and bans from several events.
LIV tour as complementary events
In September 2022, the PGA Tour is going to hold the Presidents Cup. This event will likely receive the impact of the ongoing dispute between LIV and PGA Tour “in a big way”. The international members are the most vulnerable side in this situation.
There are international golfers who were initially recruited to join the Presidents Cup but ended up participating in LIV events. Those golfers include Louis Oosthuizen and Sadom Kaewkanjana. Insider reported that Cam Smith will also join LIV and he did not deny nor confirm the rumor.
Understandably, players who “defect” to LIV will lose their participation card in the Cup. This will cause Trevor Immelman’s side to lose six players if Smith chooses to go.
Els believed that the PGA Tour needs to let go of some control in the selection process of international teams. If not, the tour might not be able to retain these international golfers.
“Hopefully in years to come,” Els added, “the Internationals can choose their own side on their own merit.”
According to Els, LIV is not a competition to more established tours despite having “endless money” support. LIV Golf implements 54 holes and 48-player fields format with no cuts and shotgun starts. The organization has applied for world-ranking points but the current format does not meet the criteria. Meanwhile, the major tours implement the 72-hole system.
“If the rest of the world is playing under a 72-hole stroke play, you make a cut after 36 holes and that’s how you get your ranking, that’s how you make your money; LIV Golf doesn’t do that,” Els explained. “So, now why would you be under the same brush as the rest of the world?
“You know, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s a different format of golf. That’s what we do on the Champions Tour … and that’s why we don’t have any ranking points. We are not regarded as a main tour.”
Els compared his proposed collaboration with the current situation in the pro cricket landscape. Although the modern abbreviated formats are the main deals, they still maintain the traditional Test format. However, this other format only serves to complement the others.