I honestly don't know, but I don't think LIV would have worked even if it had the same format/rules as the PGAT.

369 has player news, wonder what he'll have fun us

Agree. It would fail either way. I think it's only chance at success in the US would have been to largely replicate the Tour in format and buy 75%+ of the big names to join it. Basically just full on replace it by getting all the players that matter and have them play competitive golf that matters. And that was never going to happen

And I don't mean just 7-8 of the top 10 names. I mean getting 35-40 of the top 50, including basically all of the marquee guys. Scheffler, Rory, Spieth, JT - they all needed to be in the boat along with most of the other top players in the game.

Who cares. Doesn't affect us at all.

I would say kudos to the PGAT coming to its senses and never moving forward with any kind of merger. All they needed to do was make sure most of the big guys got paid enough to not leave. Then you just wait for the inevitable. In fact, it was kind of genius to engage enough with them on a merger, which likely slowed LIv's roll on buying guys when they see possible like of sight to relevancy without having to do that. But then you just drag it out and kill it

jja79 said:

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Who cares. Doesn't affect us at all.

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"I would really like to get into sport X, but the players' purses/salaries just aren't big enough. So I just can't."

What a weird take.

Does what they make affect you? It doesn't me.

DannyDuberstein said:

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And I don't mean just 7-8 of the top 10 names. I mean getting 35-40 of the top 50, including basically all of the marquee guys. Scheffler, Rory, Spieth, JT - they all needed to be in the boat along with most of the other top players in the game.

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I'd buy into something like this, with teams bought by club manufacturers. A leaderboard with teams Titleist, Taylormade, Callaway, etc. would be interesting I think. The big brands could have a multiple teams. I think that's how you F1 the PGATour. These made up names with no real association from the players on LIV and TGL don't do it for me. Now a race between team Taylormade and Titleist and wondering if Srixon can podium at least gets me interested.

I'm not talking about just 35-40 players. I'm just saying their only shot was to essentially buy the entire tour, or at least the players on it.

That sponsorship stuff was/is never going to happen. Those manufacturers were never going to participate in busting up the PGAT. That F1 stuff was one of the most nonsensical speculations about LIV teams

jja79 said:

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Does what they make affect you? It doesn't me.

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Sorry. I wasn't clear. I was talking about the LIV guys who always, at some point, default to "well, the tour players should thank LIV for all the extra cash" when the question was what made LIV a more interesting/entertaining product.

The money played for doesn't matter to anyone outside the players. That's why the Masters is the biggest tourney of the year, not the Tour Championship.

If you enjoy LIV and, in particular, the live events have gotten your kids into golf, that's great. I don't think anyone begrudges that.

From my standpoint, it wasn't that anyone liked LIV, it was that they had to run down the tour in the process. And their reasoning was never consistent and often contradictory. First, it was the tour had it coming because they didn't take care of the stars. Next, it was the tour had it coming because they didn't take care of the mules. And the fact that these could never both be accomplished at the same time was never even acknowledged, much less addressed. And it was also pretty clear after some back and forth that the LIV guys really didn't understand how the tour (and professional golf in general) was set up in the first place (not a knock, it's often confusing). Just became very annoying to listen to constantly moving goalposts by people who didn't really seem to know what they were talking about.

And the cherry on top is the "I just want the best guys to all play together" when that's literally the only thing LIV guaranteed would not happen.

Taking your kids to the Globetrotters can be fun. That's basically what this is. Exhibition golf.

DannyDuberstein said:

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Taking your kids to the Globetrotters can be fun. That's basically what this is. Exhibition golf.

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yes, exactly the same if the globetrotters had NBA all star level players playing instead of division II basketball stars.

DannyDuberstein said:

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Taking your kids to the Globetrotters can be fun. That's basically what this is. Exhibition golf.

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Yeah it's crazy what the NBA penalizes players who go play for the Globetrotters. Same with the MLB and Banana Ball. The NFL is probably the worse. You should look into what they fine the Canadian Football Players, it's outrageous. But that's what has kept them being the premier leagues in their sport.

LOL. Touched a nerve, I see. If you don't like the globetrotter comparison, fine, but it's an unserious exhibition form of golf.

This is a great point here. I do like that idea.

DannyDuberstein said:

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LOL. Touched a nerve, I see. If you don't like the globetrotter comparison, fine, but it's an unserious exhibition form of golf.

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didn't touch a nerve at all. You can call it "unserious exhibtion" and thats fine. Doesnt bother me one bit. My point was LIV has major champions, Ryder Cup players ,etc who all compete. Unless something has changed the globetrotters have people you never heard of or who have accomplished anything of significance.

Matsui said:

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The PGA Tour will just edit the rules until they entice the players they want back or the ones they want come back. I'm sure it is more than Koepka that is interested.

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This is the biggest part. PGA will pick who they want to return.

They probably aren't looking at the bottom tier/borderline KFT guy and removing his suspension to allow them back on.

Someone like Wesley Bryan who got suspended because of a YouTube LIV scramble event is still suspended, but Koepka gets to walk right back in the door.

So Koepka really just needs a sponsor invite.

RogerFurlong said:

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So Koepka really just needs a sponsor invite.

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No. Much like Bryan, he signed a tour agreement that he was in breach of and thus, wasn't eligible for a sponsor's invite. However, because he is marketable, he negotiated a path back. Bryan is not marketable, so he hasn't.

Make sure you're sitting down because this may shock you. People who offer value sometimes get offered packages that people who don't offer value don't. And it's not just golf!

JCA1 said:

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RogerFurlong said:

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So Koepka really just needs a sponsor invite.

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No. Much like Bryan, he signed a tour agreement that he was in breach of and thus, wasn't eligible for a sponsor's invite. However, because he is marketable, he negotiated a path back. Bryan is not marketable, so he hasn't.

Make sure you're sitting down because this may shock you. People who offer value sometimes get offered packages that people who don't offer value don't. And it's not just golf!

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Sounds a lot like an employee agreement not an independent contractor.

RogerFurlong said:

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JCA1 said:

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RogerFurlong said:

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So Koepka really just needs a sponsor invite.

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No. Much like Bryan, he signed a tour agreement that he was in breach of and thus, wasn't eligible for a sponsor's invite. However, because he is marketable, he negotiated a path back. Bryan is not marketable, so he hasn't.

Make sure you're sitting down because this may shock you. People who offer value sometimes get offered packages that people who don't offer value don't. And it's not just golf!

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Sounds a lot like an employee agreement not an independent contractor.

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No. It really doesn't. Being an IC doesn't mean no one can tell you what to do in any context. I represent contractors at a bunch of different facilities, and guess what, those facilities still get to dictate a bunch of terms. And yelling "independent contractor" changes nothing.

But if what keeps you up at night is the tour having control over whether the players can literally moonlight with a competitor because they're "independent contractors", knock yourself out.

Wish LIV would create a new team, one with all content creators. That would be awesome! Content GC! Tens of tens would watch.

to get this thread back on track lets start the debate on whether Brooks makes the cut at Torrey??? I say no.

class of 03 said:

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Wish LIV would create a new team, one with all content creators. That would be awesome! Content GC! Tens of tens would watch.

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It would work better than you think. The U.S. Open final round had 5.4 million views. The first episode of the creator classic by Barstool has 6.9 million views.

Perfect! What a great way to keep growing the game.

🚨🇦🇺🔒 #STAYING — Cam Smith has decided to remain a LIV Golfer. “I made a decision to come here and I stand by it.”

(Via @EvinPriest) pic.twitter.com/kgnzByqCWr

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) January 13, 2026

Cam staying. Not really a surprise. By all accounts, he got very homesick when he was stuck in the US for about a year during Covid. LIV lets him spend a bunch more time in Australia and he doesn't seem too concerned over legacy.

Bryson and Rahm also announced they are staying with LIV