LIV Golf’s model is clear three years into its existence. It has leaned heavily into the team concept, even if it has yet to catch on in a big way. The idea is to sell teams as “franchises” to prospective owners.
To reach those goals, LIV Golf needs its teams to be marketable. It needs star players as much as possible to fill out those teams.
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That became clear when the league recently announced it was cutting back on its qualifying tournament, allowing just one player to come through its Promotions Event instead of three.
The general consensus was that the teams should be able to pick their own players. “Commercial appeal” is the talking point.
So this "bad take" proposal is not likely to be well received in the LIV Golf world but it actually might have helped them if it had been enacted earlier.
The idea: have a weekly four-spot qualifier in which the tournament qualifiers form their own “rogue” LIV team.
That foursome would be a 14th LIV team, owned and marketed by the league with its own branding and uniforms. Call them the Renegades, the Outlaws or the Outliers, with merchandise to sell—along with a dream. And watch each week as a bunch of misfits, perhaps, attempt to capitalize on a chance to shake things up.
If one of those players on the “rogue” team finishes in the top 10, let him return to the next event. If the team finishes top 3—and gets on the podium—let it return for the next tournament.
In order to do this, LIV would need to increase its field size from 54 players to 60 and add two more wildcard players.
That actually helps them in a couple of ways: It allows them to add players who compete in either its Promotions Event, the International Series Order of Merit or both.
And it also allows for weekly turnover, something that LIV sorely lacks. It’s unlikely that this four-person “team” will have many qualifiers for the following tournament.
So this would add a unique aspect each week while still maintaining the team concept.
How would it work?
Well, this is another issue that likely makes it tough for LIV Golf to embrace. While the circuit seemingly has unlimited funds, it is already spending a considerable amount from event to event, and this would only add to those expenses.
If you attempt to use the same venue where the tournament is to be played, it would likely mean a Monday qualifier, to assure it could be completed by Tuesday if there are weather delays. That would add to the number of people on site, plus added security and added golf course personnel.
To offset that, LIV Golf could charge a hefty entry fee. It would be a way to dissuade some of the weekend warriors—although LIV could set up an exemption process such as it does for the Promotions Event to weed out the scratch golfers who wouldn’t stand a chance.
Make it $2,000 for 100 players. That’s a huge entry fee, but it’s for an opportunity to win a minimum of $50,000 (that's last-place money) with the opportunity to dream about winning $4 million if you capture the event. LIV pays six figures through 45 places. Aspiring pros with no status would line up to get to these venues.
That $200,000 in fees LIV collects would go a long way toward offsetting any costs associated with the qualifying event.
But more importantly, it would give the league another talking point each week.
And had LIV tried to implement this type of system sooner, perhaps the ongoing Official World Golf Ranking angst would abate. LIV was denied accreditation a year ago, with the OWGR explaining that the league did not have enough weekly turnover nor promotion and relegation.
A weekly qualifying event—one that still fits the LIV team model—along with extra spots via qualifying or the International Series goes a long way toward answering those questions. Eight of the 60 players adds up to 13% turnover. OWGR would then be splitting hairs if it rejected the bid. A LIV Golf League with OWGR in its current construction would not yield immense points, but would be better than nothing.
But LIV has seemingly shut that door. It has doubled down on its team concept and seems none too interested in forging major championship spots for its players, hoping that the majors—who so far have yet to do so—offer direct spots.
Perhaps a deal that brings peace between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia—LIV’s benefactor—makes all of this moot, allowing LIV to go even further down the path of its team and franchise concept, which ultimately would help pay a lot of the bills.
That is what LIV is banking on, thus this off-the-wall idea is not going to gain much traction. But I'd guess that dreamers who'd love a chance at a $20 million purse might not think it’s such a bad take.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bad Takes Week: LIV Golf Should Create a 'Rogue' Team at Every Event.
