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LIV Golf chief fires huge message as venue partner delivers disruption note
LIV Golf chief fires huge message as venue partner delivers disruption note

Daily Record

timea day ago

  • Business
  • Daily Record

LIV Golf chief fires huge message as venue partner delivers disruption note

LIV Golf CEO doesn't know where to begin in terms of huge momentum speak and hints more progress with Majors LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neill insists he can't be more excited with where the Tour is heading. ‌ The Saudi-backed series is in the midst of their fourth year of tournaments since the controversial start-up and first event at Centurion in 2022. ‌ LIV are currently in England with a new deal agreed to stage the UK event at JCB Golf and Country Club in Staffordshire through 2026. ‌ O'Neil, in his first year after taking over from Greg Norman, has outlined his early feelings and is bursting with enthusiasm for the future. Speaking at a press conference today to make the announcement over the course arrangement, he said: 'For those of us, I see plenty of my colleagues in the back, and on behalf of them, I can tell you how amazing this experience is to be part of revolutionising and changing the world of golf. 'The chance to get amazing players throughout the 54-person field and be able to take them around the world to grow the game of golf is quite a treat. 'About three-quarters into my first year as CEO of LIV Golf and coming in, one thing I noticed really quickly was the incredible players. That's the one thing. What I think separates us a bit is we have a bit of personality and a bit of flair and we bring some fun to golf. That's the first thing. 'The second thing I noticed was it's global. You have some of the best golf over the last, I guess since Tiger, 20 years, it's been played inside the US. 'The growth of the game and the love of this game is around the world. So for us to be able to take it around the world gives us a lot of opportunity. ‌ 'In terms of momentum, it's almost where can you possibly begin. From a television distribution end, we added FOX and ITV here in the UK. We're now in 125 countries around the world. Having players from 18 different countries, it's nice to be able to travel and go home and be home. 'We were in Spain two weeks ago and our press conferences were held in Spanish. We were in Korea and our press conferences were held in Korean. It's pretty special to see this all materialise. ‌ 'So we're now in almost 900 million homes around the world for each of our broadcasts. From a sponsorship end, hopefully, you've seen the HSBC announcement. It's one of several new partners. We have exponentially grown our sponsorship base which has been great. I'm building on Salesforce and Aramco before that. Callaway and Ping have come on. 'In terms of the impact we're having, we continue to drive impact and put more clubs in kids' hands, drive sustainability efforts around the world. That's been at least a passion point for a lot of us. 'And from a marketing position, you've seen us move from 'golf but louder' to 'long LIV Golf,' which is more than just a tag line. It's actually how we see ourselves as part of this golf ecosystem. 'To that end, you've seen pretty good strides. We've had open pathways to two of the majors this year, between the US Open and the Open Championship, which is really gracious of those two leaders, Mark Darbon and Mike Whan. And I think you'll continue to see progress there. I will tell you, the future is really bright and I can't be any more excited for what's coming.' Graeme Macdonald, CEO of JCB, added: 'When we set out on this journey back in 2013, our ambition was to build a tournament venue and host world-class players, the best players in the world here in Staffordshire. Last year when we had our inaugural LIV Golf by JCB event we certainly fulfilled that ambition. 'We did listen to feedback from both the LIV team and the players and we've made a big investment over the last 12 months. We've made a lot of modifications, improvements to the course, and we really do value the relationship we have with LIV. I do believe that we share a lot of the same core principles. Innovation, disruption. Both of us love to disrupt very traditional industries, us with the construction equipment industry and you with the golf industry and I think that brings lots of new people into this wonderful sport.'

LIV Golf players slam ‘mockery' of world rankings system
LIV Golf players slam ‘mockery' of world rankings system

Straits Times

timea day ago

  • Sport
  • Straits Times

LIV Golf players slam ‘mockery' of world rankings system

England's Lee Westwood reacts after finishing on the 18th green on the final day of the British Open. LONDON – Lee Westwood's tie for 34th at the British Open vaulted him 3,759 spots in the Official World Golf Ranking. Now at No. 930, he is back ahead of his son, Sam, a mini-tour player who currently sits 2,759th. That served as Exhibit 1 for the Englishman's rant against the world rankings system. 'I think that just proves that without world ranking points it makes a bit of a mockery of the system,' Westwood said on Wednesday ahead of this week's LIV Golf UK event. The comments came after the league re-applied for submission to the OWGR last month. That submission currently is under review. LIV originally applied for accreditation in July of 2022, shortly after the league launched, but was denied. LIV golfers currently can only earn ranking points by competing in Majors and international tour events. With limited ability to amass points via the DP World Tour and other tours, LIV players like Westwood have continued to plummet down the OWGR. Dustin Johnson, who spent 135 weeks at No. 1, dropped as low as 907th before a T23 last week vaulted him back up to 571st. The current Top 50 includes only two LIV players – No. 16 Bryson DeChambeau and No. 21 Tyrrell Hatton. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia At least 2 Thai civilians killed as Thai and Cambodian militaries clash at disputed border Asia Live: Thai-Cambodia border clash Singapore Boy, 15, charged after being caught with vapes 5 times; ordered to stay 2 years in S'pore Boys' Home Business MOM probing work injury claim flagged by late Sumo Salad boss Jane Lee: MOS Dinesh Business New tie-up offers insurance savings for SMEs committed to workers' health and well-being Singapore What's key to a good life? Most Singapore residents choose emotional and mental well-being Singapore Astronomer executives' Coldplay scandal: Why it went viral and the obsession with public shaming World Trump was told he is in Epstein files, Wall Street Journal reports Westwood applauds LIV's recent second submission and believes that without earning OWGR, the four Majors will have to alter their processes to include more LIV players in the future. 'I think it relates back to wanting the best players in the Major championships, not wanting this conversation where there's a few people missing out because we don't get world ranking points on LIV,' he said. 'We either start to get world ranking points on LIV or the Major championships have to revise their qualification system... and you want it all to be based off the same system.' That he was able to jump more than 3,000 spots based off a tie for 34th at one event speaks to the core issues Westwood has with the system. Jon Rahm's issues with the OWGR pre-date joining LIV in December 2023, and supports a system that focuses more on key playing metrics. 'I already thought it was flawed before I ever came, and I was vocal about it,' he said. 'So I think the last few years, even the world ranking itself and both Data Golf do a strokes gained ranking, and I think that much more reflects who truly is playing the best because the actual points being a two- year ranking, you can have a poor week or a poor three weeks, and that will hold you down for two whole years. 'It's crazy how you can actually finesse a little bit of the system by playing certain weeks and not playing certain weeks and things like that. It's always going to be somewhat accurate but not the most, and I think strokes gained usually is going to be the better representation of how truly everybody is playing.' For now, LIV players will continue to tumble down the OWGR. Sure, they can accumulate some points on other tours outside of LIV events, but the next Major isn't until the Masters next April. And unless they are included in the OWGR, it will become increasingly difficult for LIV players to qualify for the four biggest tournaments each year. LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil said earlier this month that he's hopefully the approval process can progress ahead of the 2026 Major season. 'I think there's a lot of guys out here that you certainly want to be playing in Majors. If there's a better pathway for that for us, then that's brilliant,' Hatton said. 'There's a lot of guys out here, their current world ranking doesn't really reflect the type of golfer that they are, and I think everyone would like to think everyone sitting here would agree with that statement. 'I guess the sooner the world rankings can become a little bit more realistic again, the better it is for golf.' REUTERS

Bhatia, Rai finish in Top-35 as Scheffler re-writes records to win maiden Open
Bhatia, Rai finish in Top-35 as Scheffler re-writes records to win maiden Open

News18

time4 days ago

  • Sport
  • News18

Bhatia, Rai finish in Top-35 as Scheffler re-writes records to win maiden Open

Portrush (Northern Ireland), Jul 21 (PTI) Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia, who played all four Majors for the second straight year, achieved one of his best results in a Major as he finished tied 30th at the 153rd Open at Portrush. The 23-year-old shot a final round with a 2-under 69 that had four birdies against two bogeys. His rounds of 73-68-70-69 saw him total 4-under for the week. The Indo-British Aaron Rai, who was among the leaders after nine holes on the first day, ended tied 34th and showed consistency in making all four cuts at the Majors this year. It was his seventh straight cut in a Major and his third cut in four starts at the Open. Rai finished with 2-under 69 and his rounds of 69-72-71-69 saw him total 3-under. Meanwhile, American Scottie Scheffler completed a dominant week with a final round 3-under 68 to win The Open. It was Scheffler's fourth career major championship and second this year. He now has at least one each of three of the four — the one missing being the US Open — where he was tied 7th this year and has four Top-10s, including a runner-up in last five years. Scheffler's dominance at the Majors is so stark. In 20 Majors since the beginning of 2020, he has missed one, won four, been in Top-10 16 times, missed just one cut and been outside Top-25 only once. The Open was not played in 2020 and he did not play the US Open that year. The world No. 1 and FedExCup leader picked up his 17th PGA TOUR win in his 146th start at the age of 29 and retained the No. 1 spot in the FedExCup rankings. He has finished inside the top 25 in all 16 starts this season, with a season-high 13 top-10 finishes, including 11 straight. Scheffler became the 12th consecutive first-time Open Championship winner; Ernie Els in 2012 being the most recent multiple winner. His rounds of 68-64-67-68 made him the seventh Open Championship winner to record four rounds in the 60s and the first since Collin Morikawa in 2021. He become the first player during the modern major championship era to win his first four majors by three or more strokes: 2022 Masters (3), 2024 Masters (4), 2025 PGA Championship (5), 2025 Open Championship (4). His 17-under 267 also bettered his personal-best 72-hole score in a major championship and he is the only player with top-10s in all four majors of 2025 (4th/Masters Tournament, 1st/PGA Championship, T7/U.S. Open, 1st/The Open Championship). However, any talk of comparisons with Tiger Woods was dismissed by Scheffler himself. 'I don't focus on that kind of stuff," Scheffler said. 'That's not what motivates me." But his peers continue to be wowed by him. Rory McIlroy said, 'In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive." First-round co-leader Harris English finished runner-up in two of the last three major championships this season, both to Scheffler at the PGA Championship and The Open Championship. The 2025 Genesis Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup finished third . With scores of 76-66-66-65, 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (T4) picked up his second top-10 finish in 16 major championship starts In his sixth appearance at The Open Championship, Haotong Li finished T4; a third-place finish in his debut appearance at the 2017 Open Championship remains his best result on the PGA TOUR by a player from China. The 2025 Masters Tournament champion and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy finished T7. Xander Schauffele ended T7 in title defense and has not finished lower than T28 (2025 PGA Championship) in 15 consecutive major championships, dating to a T-13 at the 2022 PGA Championship. He now has 26 top-20 finishes in 34 major championship starts. PTI Cor AH AH view comments First Published: July 21, 2025, 15:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

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