This is the time of year when LIV Golf managers are looking for new reinforcements who could take this Tour in the right direction. Although little has been said about LIV Golf and their ideas in recent days, especially after the PNC Championship, LIV Golf executives are working diligently and quietly, analyzing what their best options are on the market.
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There is still no concrete information on who is on LIV Golf's radar, but it is clear that there are many golfers that the Saudi-backed Tour would like to have on its roster. It is hard to expect that some big names like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and others will become part of this Tour, but no option can be ruled out. We have seen that money often directs the situation and changes things in a short period of time.
LIV Golf CEO and well-known name, Greg Norman, has been unable to hire a popular name from the other side for a long time. The last acquisition was Jon Rahm, a Spaniard who at the time of his arrival to the 'billionaire league' was one of the best golfers on the PGA Tour, if not the best.
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A long period has passed since then, and the leaders of this Tour have not yet managed to attract well-known women. With the arrival of Jon Rahm, Greg Norman stressed how important it is to have such individuals on the roster, given that the 30-year-old is one of the most popular names on the golf scene.
To have Jon (Rahm) on board was critically important to our next steps into the future and what we want to do, Norman said.
Once the most popular name on the golf scene, and now the CEO of the controversial Tour, expected that the arrival of Rahm would cause a domino effect and influence many golfers to follow the same path. His arrival had an important psychological component; the leaders of LIV wanted to send a message that there is no impossible job for them, but at the same time to awaken a different perception among Spaniard's colleagues, who could change their opinion about the Saudi-backed Tour with his arrival.
Do you think they succeeded in that? Obviously not! A year has passed since then, and in that period there has been little talk about who could be the next reinforcement. Greg Norman pointed out that he received a lot of phone calls after Rahm arrived, but we still don't see any additions.
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It will create a domino effect, there will be more apples falling from the tree - theres no question about it, because LIV continues to grow and develop.
Since Jon signed, less than a week ago now, I know my phone is blowing up. I know we probably have eight to 12 players who are very, very keen to sit down and talk to us about coming on board. Time will tell.
The former Australian golfer says that LIV Golf is the right place for those who want to build a career in the best way. Of course, no one can deny that PGA Tour golfers were interested in coming to this Tour, but they also knew what consequences they could bear by coming. LIV is a platform that financially offers a great chance for everyone, but on the other hand, not having the right to OWGR points, or to play in the Ryder Cup, is the reason why some immediately said, No!
Greg, still, believes in this project, expecting that it will attract many more quality golfers.
"It tells you the value of what our platform is, where these PGA Tour players see the opportunity that LIV offers. All the guys that play on LIV are just so happy about the decision that theyve made.
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LIV is a different platform to the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour and the players want to do both quite honestly, so weve created something special. Its a franchise, its a team model and they have embraced it 100 per cent.
The CEO of LIV Golf revealed a few months ago that he wanted to hire Hideki Matsuyama, but it seems that this golfer was not open to such an option. The Saudi-backed Tour leaders are known to be willing to go to great lengths and offer huge sums to attract one of the PGA Tour players. Some did not manage to resist, and the next period will tell if the situation has changed. Does LIV Golf really have the capacity to attract top players? We will get a real answer soon.
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"I'll give you another example. We've been trying to get Hideki Matsuyama.
I don't mind admitting that. When Hideki won in LA, what's the first thing I did? I said, 'Congratulations, Hideki. I'm proud of you, mate'."-he concluded.
