5 reasons why the LIV Golf League was a much bigger success in 2023
With the LIV Golf season having now drawn to a close, we're taking a look back at the five biggest reasons the breakaway Tour was such a big success in 2023.
LIV Golf's 2023 season is now over, and Talor Gooch and Crushers GC have taken home the end-of-season awards, so we're taking a look back at why the second campaign could be viewed as a success.
Following the fairly Marmite reaction the inaugural LIV Golf season received, there was plenty of room for it to grow and flourish in its second iteration, and despite the lack of standout summer singings, LIV 2023 was bigger and better for five main reasons.
With a new COO at the helm and promise of additional signings during the off-season, the organisers at LIV are already priming the league to go one step further in 2024, and we can't wait for what the new year has in store.
But while we wait to see what Greg Norman has planned, we're first taking a look back at the five main reasons LIV's 2023 was such a big success.
Let's get into it.
Big names
The big names turned up
LIV's success was always going to rely on its biggest stars going head-to-head week in and week out to attract viewers, and thankfully, in 2023, they all performed.
While Johnson won the individual event in 2022, the other three players experienced a rather lacklustre season. In 2023, though, the leading quartet regularly battled it out for the top prize, and eventually, all finished in the top five of the individual standings at the end of the year.
Between them, the four stars won seven of the 13 events during the regular season, and despite narrowly missing out on the individual prize, DeChambeau also led his team to success in the team event during a dramatic final day at Trump Doral.
Talor Gooch
A star was born
While he was by no means the biggest name to join the breakaway league in 2022, Talor Gooch solidified his spot as one of LIV's biggest stars in 2023.
Gooch enjoyed a standout season, winning three individual titles at LIV Singapore, LIV Adelaide and LIV Andalucia en route to securing the end-of-season individual title, pipping Smith to the whopping $18m first prize.
The former PGA Tour player has quickly established himself as one of LIV's standout players and has also perfectly demonstrated just how lucrative the Saudi-backed league can be.
Gooch had made 123 starts on the PGA Tour, amassing close to $10m in prize money over the course of eight seasons. In comparison, he has made $35m in 2023 alone with LIV.
Bryson DeChambeau
'Mr 58', Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau was one of LIV's standout singings when the breakaway league was first formed, and after a fairly lacklustre 2022 campaign in which he finished 21st in the individual standings, he needed a big year to stamp his authority on the league and show exactly why they paid the big bucks to lure him away from the PGA Tour.
He certainly did that, and more.
Bryson was in electric form in 2023, especially in the latter stages of the season. 'Mr 58', as we now like to call him, was back to his US Open-winning best, securing two individual titles at LIV Greenbrier and LIV Chicago to finish fourth in the individual standings, as well as winning the team event with fellow Crushers GC teammates Paul Casey, Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri.
While his consistent form throughout the season was cause for celebration, it was his astonishing final round at LIV Greenbrier that really caught the attention of the golfing world.
As you've probably guessed from the title of this section, DeChambeau shot a 12-under 58 in the final round, winning the tournament by six shots. He carded 13 birdies and one bogey en route to becoming only the fourth professional golfer to shoot 58 on a main Tour.
The unbelievable round made headlines around the world and provided the undoubted highlight of the 2023 season.
We even think he was extremely unfortunate to not have been boarding a plane to Rome for the Ryder Cup last month.
But let's be honest, Zach Johnson got a number of things wrong on that front.
Jediah Morgan
The stakes were higher
One of the biggest criticisms of the LIV Golf League when it was founded was that the field was effectively ring-fenced, meaning that no matter how badly the golfers played, it didn't really matter as they would still get the opportunity to turn up every year and compete.
That changed to some degree in 2023 with a new relegation system implemented for the six worst players of the season.
Much like Premier League football, those unfortunate players who found themselves in the dreaded 'drop zone' were ditched from the league, with one last opportunity for redemption coming at the LIV qualification tournament that will be held before the start of the 2024 season.
Despite their inclusion, however, both Kaymer and Westwood avoided relegation due to the fact that they are both team captains and have a contractual safety net to keep them from the drop.
This extra layer of drama was an excellent subplot this season and added some much-needed consequence for both players and spectators.
Crushers GC
A change of system
LIV's end-of-season team finale at Trump Doral provided excellent drama, with DeChambeau's Crushers GC eventually pipping Bubba Watson's Range Goats GC to the win by two shots thanks to standout performances from both DeChambeau and Lahiri.
Having undergone a change of format from 2022, the team finale was primed to provide additional drama, and it delivered on its promise.
In 2022, only four teams took part in the final day strokeplay round, but for 2023, every team was out on the course to decide the end-of-season standings.
While not all teams were competing for first place due to the seeding decided in the quarter and semi-finals, the final day provided a much-improved fan experience due to all 48 players being out on the course at the same time.
As was one of the remits for the Tour, the team aspect of the final also gave the day an extra edge over your standard tournament finale.
While Lahiri and DeChambeau were firing on all cylinders, the end result could have all hinged on Casey or Howell III stumbling at the final hurdle, which provided an added level of drama we're typically only used to seeing in team events like the Ryder Cup.
This aspect made for an incredibly engaging final day, which was steeped in twists and turns from beginning to end.
For us, it was a fitting end to see DeChambeau, who has arguably played the best golf on LIV Golf the past few months, lift the team title for the Crushers.
What did you make of the 2023 LIV Golf League season? What changes would you like to made to LIV Golf in 2024? Which PGA Tour players do you think will be tempted by a move to LIV over the coming months? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.
Johnny joined GolfMagic as Reviews Editor in 2023 having worked for Sports Impact for two years as Head of Social Media, working alongside prominent golf brands including Galvin Green, Motocaddy and Wilson.
