LIV Golfers, Paid Upfront, Giggle Their Way Around Trump Bedminster

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Brooks Koepka, the four-time major golf champion, was riding in a golf cart Saturday with his wife, Jena Sims, sitting on his lap, both laughing as the cart headed for the golf course.

It was a great snapshot of summer in New Jersey.

This scene was unique because Koepka was only two minutes away from starting the second round at Trump Bedminster Golf Club’s LIV Golf event. The buildup to the first shot at a professional round of golf is often stressful, anxious, and filled with pressure. It’s a seven-figure payday that is at stake.

The fun and lighthearted Koepka Sims cart ride was harmless but it also highlighted the impact on guaranteed nine-figure contracts for top players on LIV Golf’s upstart, Saudi-backed LIV Tour. Koepka was reported to have received more than $100million to join the breakaway circuit.

It’s no wonder that he and his wife were laughing.

LIV Golf had completed its third event for the year on Sunday. There was an unmistakable sense of carefreeness to the proceedings, and that everyone had already gotten their money. That’s because dozens had, and even the player who finished last was assured a $120,000 payout (with the travel and lodging expenses for top players reimbursed).

Henrik Stenson won and took home $4 million.

Despite all the attention paid to the extravagant prize money, LIV Golf has been illuminating, enriching and inspiring professional golfers in other less risky ways. The vibe in northwestern New Jersey from Friday through Sunday was much younger, more relaxed and open to experimentation than the established PGA Tour. This meant that high-energy music was played even as golfers attempted to make difficult putts and chip shots. The Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)” serenaded Dustin Johnson ($125 million upfront payment) at a high volume as he teed off on the first tee Sunday.

His shot was landed in a bunker.

Many fans felt energized by the environment.

“You go to a traditional golf tournament and they’re constantly telling you to shut up,” Patrick Shields, who lives in Hackensack, N.J., said next to the 16th tee. “It is a sporting event, right?”

LIV Golf volunteers carried crowd control placards that were meant to calm fans as per the PGA Tour’s custom. The placards, held overhead, read, “Zip it,” or “Shhhh.”

While it is equally important, volunteers have never had to deal in large numbers. The attendance for Sunday’s final round was substantially improved from the meager gatherings that turned out for the first two rounds — often there had been only about 30 people surrounding a green — but the total number of fans on the grounds Sunday was no more than several thousand.

An average PGA Tour event draws about 20,000 fans daily. Officials from LIV Golf declined the opportunity to release attendance figures. The secondary ticket market could sell a weekend pass for as low as $2. The rebel circuit’s chief financial backing, which is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, could certainly have played a part in the modest fan turnouts. In the event’s opening seconds Friday, as Phil Mickelson prepared to strike his first shot, he was heckled by somebody who yelled: “Do it for the Saudi royal family.”

Overall, the new tour has not attracted enough big-name players to draw a large crowd. Mickelson is a draw but it is limited because he has played some of the worst golf in his entire career since joining the rebel circuit. The average golf fan might have been confused by the leaderboard this weekend, which includes Johnson, Koepka, and a few other players past their primes, as well as Bryson DeChambeau who has also struggled to contend.

Justin Harding, who is ranked number 123 in the world, hit his green-side shot on Saturday’s ninth hole. The ball came to rest next to a large concession stand bar. For three days, venues selling alcohol were very well attended. Harding faced an uphill challenge on the green so about 20 spectators rushed out to stand right next to him.

After Harding deftly pitched to within three feet of the hole and began to walk away, a young boy nearby turned and asked: “Dad, who is that?”

Said the father: “I have no idea.”

It can be attributed to growing pains. LIV Golf officials also privately insist that the key to success is generating interest for the team component of the competitions. These go on concurrently to the individual contest. They envision four-man teams consisting of Australians and South Africans, with some members being from different countries, such as Japan, England, South Africa, or Australia. This could, it is argued, help to sell the LIV tour worldwide.

At the small merchandise trailer in the event’s fan village, which had the laid-back feel of a county fair, the sales racks were packed with T-shirts, hats and golf shirts promoting the team names: Aces, Crushers and Majesticks, etc.

There is no precedent for American golf fans rooting against teams of any type, except in the biennial Ryder Cup and Presidents Cups. This could change but the merchandise trailer racks had plenty of team apparel on Sunday. The best sellers had been a T-shirt embossed with “Bedminster” and a white LIV Golf cap.

It is possible that, once the primary PGA Tour season finishes in August, another wave of defectors will join the breakaway circuit. The circuit will continue to host moneyed events all over the world until October. The Masters is held at Augusta National Golf Club in April. As with other major championships there have been signs that LIV golfers might not be welcome in Augusta.

Or would rival tours have already begun negotiations that could lead towards coexistence?

A cavalcade of golf cars was on the way to take players back to their clubhouse as another LIV Series event was ending late Sunday afternoon. While not everyone would laugh, no one would return home empty-handed.