LIV Golf's South African Success: What Made It a Knockout?
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JOHANNESBURG — Bryson DeChambeau looked wiped. Leaning on a desk in the LIV Golf media center, his chin practically on his chest, he took a long swig of grape Celsius. “Long couple weeks,” he mumbled. Hong Kong, Singapore, then here. “But this is what LIV is supposed to be.” He gestured vaguely towards the buzzing golf course outside. Spectators everywhere. First round just wrapped, and he was tied for the lead. “Might not work everywhere,” he admitted. “But in certain spots? Hell yeah, it can.”That’s the vibe right now for LIV Golf. Leaving South Africa, their fifth event of the year. Just 14 months ago, when Scott O’Neil took over from Greg Norman, this continent? Not ready. Not even close. But then Louis Oosthuizen pulls South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Gayton McKenzie, to a LIV event in Korea. McKenzie meets DeChambeau. He’s hooked. McKenzie is loud, not shy about wanting big sports in his country. He and O’Neil do a handshake deal right there. Ten months later, LIV South Africa happens. And it’s one of the biggest wins in the league’s four-year history.So, why the hell did it work so damn well? It’s not rocket science. LIV lays it all out, practically with a damn chalkboard. If a place checks enough boxes, LIV shows up. If not? They look elsewhere. Simple as that. Especially if government cash is involved.
The Adelaide Blueprint: More Than Just Golf
“Adelaide is the template,” Brendan Steele told me last week on the range. He was buzzing. You could feel the anticipation. Digital clocks counting down everywhere. He meant Australia, sure, but more specifically, South Australia. They embraced LIV years ago, and their event has been the league’s biggest ever since. The fact that Anthony Kim won out of nowhere this year? That was just icing on the cake.Steele and I only talked for a sec, but he said great LIV events don’t *always* need to tick *every single box*. That sounds optimistic, especially when it comes to getting government funding. South Australia is locked in as LIV’s Australian home until 2031. New Orleans gets its first LIV event this year, but only after coughing up $7 million from a budget that already funds the Super Bowl and other big sports. Chicago hosted LIV for four straight years – nobody else did that. But they’re not getting it this summer because state funding never materialized. If the Chicago Bears are begging Illinois for money and looking at Indiana, why the hell would LIV Golf be any different? (Shockingly, LIV found a new Midwest spot in Indianapolis.)
McKenzie: The Man Who Made It Happen
For LIV South Africa to become a reality, getting McKenzie to push for government help was Step 1. And McKenzie, who was all over the Club at Steyn City all week, was the perfect guy. He wants Formula 1 to race through his country so bad he spoke up when races got canceled in the Middle East due to war. He promised F1 an offer they couldn’t refuse for a future race. Now he’s got a golf case study to back him up.We don’t know exactly how much public cash LIV’s Joburg event got, but it was clearly a massive success. Sunday morning, LIV announced they’re coming back next April. McKenzie basically opened the ticket window himself. “LIV Golf is never leaving this continent again,” he declared. “We’re going to be here 2027, 2028, 2029, forever. We’re going to be here.”
The Sound, The Fervor, The Festival Vibe
After round two, DeChambeau’s back in the media center, Celsius in hand, breathing easier. “Be honest,” he starts, “how many PGA Tour events are like that?” He means the noise. The energy. People sticking around *long* after the golf. Why? Because it leads into a set by one of South Africa’s biggest DJs, Black Coffee. Between Friday and Saturday, they had to swap out the white picket fence around the party hole for a metal one. People were about to trample the damn thing.“Not many,” I said. “But honestly, where can this *actually* happen?”“Five or six internationally,” DeChambeau figures. He’s clearly thought about this. Australia, South Africa, Spain, England. Maybe one in Asia. “And definitely one in Chile, for Torque GC.”The globalist mind is working overtime. Santiago… Buenos Aires… DeChambeau isn’t the only LIV guy suggesting about six spots worldwide that can handle a massive crowd of 100,000 people wanting a festival. Golf mixed with music, art, food, the whole damn package. That’s the LIV product now. You can’t tell if people are there for Calvin Harris as an opener for DeChambeau, or if Harris is dessert after DeChambeau. LIV sees either as a win.South Africa isn’t exactly short on pro golf. The DP World Tour has had four tournaments there in the last four months. But the DPWT is *nothing* like LIV. It’s almost insulting to compare them. The DPWT isn’t trying to create festivals. LIV is trying to make a massive, unforgettable splash. All this made organizers think more about the 2003 Presidents Cup in South Africa than any Nedbank Challenges. This event was hailed as the biggest golf event in South African history. Just like Adelaide was called the biggest for Australia back in February.The mastermind behind these events? Ross Hallett. Decades of golf event experience from IMG. He wants every LIV event to feel as big as the Presidents Cup, but less like a stuffy golf tournament. “Music works,” he says. “We know it. Easy. How do you incorporate art? We haven’t nailed it yet, but there’s local art on every TV tower.”In Hong Kong, celebrity chefs were cooking in the fan village all week, with mirrors above their heads so people could see. “They were mic’d up, and I was like, ‘This is awesome,'” says LIV CEO O’Neil. “Now, is it for everyone? No. Does it sell more tickets? I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. But it’s the whole total experience. It’s that full cultural experience, which I love. And I think over time, that wins because it’s right in the demo. It’s right in the demo: culture, food, art, music, golf.”He listed golf last. Maybe unintentional, but it raises a question: Can the actual golf at LIV Golf matter to hardcore, traditional golf fans? O’Neil clearly thinks so. And seeing it in person, the competition in South Africa was mostly riveting, even if the soggy course wasn’t exactly a thrill ride.In a dream scenario, the league’s two best players – two of their most expensive signings – end up in a playoff. Suddenly, two of the best pre-Masters storylines are coming from LIV Golf. Something that’s never happened before. Adding more drama, South Africa’s Southern Guards were one putt away from their own playoff.On the final hole in regulation, ropes dropped. DeChambeau needed to get up and down for par. As he worked, a massive crowd belted out their national anthem, trying to get in his head. First playoff hole, more drama. DeChambeau hits a stunning 3-wood from a mud-ball lie to set up his winning birdie. The setting was special. It moved DeChambeau to tears. All week he was treated like Elvis, signing autographs for hours. He acted like a frontman on stage, coming back for an encore, throwing his hat into the crowd, yelling, “I LOVE YOU GUYS!”That this happened at 8 a.m. on the East Coast of America is important. Because there’s a recurring theme with LIV’s best results: You kinda had to be there to really appreciate it. Between time zones and a lack of interest from the Golf Channel crowd, there’s a disconnect between the action abroad and how it resonates, especially in the U.S.Year-over-year, LIV’s international TV numbers are up. But over its four-plus seasons, American TV numbers have been pretty bad. And the American TV market is where most of the value for sports leagues comes from. For the PGA Tour, TV rights make up nearly two-thirds of its core business revenue.TV might be less important for LIV Golf, but can it be unimportant? On LIV’s current TV deal, events bounce between FS2, FS1, and FOX. They get out-rated by similarly scheduled PGA Tour events by a factor of 10x or 11x, according to Nielsen. LIV hopefuls believe they’ll eventually steal market share from the PGA Tour. But if LIV wants to make a dent in its American TV deficit this season, it’ll have to do it against five Signature Events on the PGA Tour. That’s not an uphill climb. It’s a vertical cliff face.
Building It Fast: A Sense of Amazement
For Johannesburg locals, at least, there was a sense of amazement at how quickly LIV put up its operation in their backyard. Someone living on the Steyn City Estate said the event buildout just sprouted out of the ground like mushrooms. When the Southern Guards approached McKenzie about getting the government green-light, they figured it would happen in 2028, maybe 2027 if they were lucky. Not 2026. But McKenzie made it happen. O’Neil says local sponsors are almost as important as local government support. They didn’t have a title sponsor this year, like they did in Hong Kong, but he thinks they will next year.Walk around Steyn City and you’ll see way more local and global brands leaning into LIV than they did in its first season. Coca-Cola’s products – Powerade, Monster Energy – were everywhere in the fan village. The concert stage was sponsored by Castle Light, South Africa’s top beer. Saudi companies like Roshn, Riyadh Air, Maaden, and Aramco are also well-represented. It’s a crucial reminder that the big money needed to bring this tour to Africa still comes from the Middle East. The Saudi Public Investment Fund keeps injecting cash into the league.LIV has managed to cut costs over time, but O’Neil projected to the Financial Times that it’ll take another five to 10 years for the league to become profitable. This means continued funding from LIV’s backers will be essential to reach markets like South Africa. (One reason F1 might be taking its time getting to South Africa is that it might not generate the same revenue from tickets or sponsorship as it could elsewhere.) LIV will obviously keep looking for other markets that can mimic its recent success. And when it does, is it filling a gap in the global golf ecosystem?Early in the week, I was curious about these “gaps” in pro golf, as promises rained down about how special LIV South Africa would be. The idea of LIV satisfying thirsty markets has gained traction. Rory McIlroy even praised LIV for finding its footing in Australia.DeChambeau and his Crushers GC teammates were doing a pre-tournament press conference. Unsurprisingly, the captain got most of the questions. But sitting next to him was Paul Casey. A 48-year-old veteran who grew up on the DP World Tour, spent five straight years on the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council, and now sits on LIV’s player advisory group. I asked him, looking at the pro golf world, what gaps is LIV filling?“That’s a good question,” Casey said. “It’s complicated. I’d probably defer that for another time because it’s nuanced. Yeah, product-market fit is a real thing we discuss. We talk about it a lot as players, actually. I don’t think it ever gets talked about enough.”Product-market fit is a simple business idea: companies reach a specific audience with unique needs by offering a product that meets them. In Silicon Valley, it’s easy to spot. Applied to the complex (and competitive!) golf world – emphasis on *world* – it can be tricky. LIV Golf will always have an event in Saudi Arabia, for obvious reasons. It’ll probably always have events in Australia, given its success there. Will it go to Chile, like DeChambeau wants?A few minutes later, after the press conference, Casey pulled me aside. “I think it just comes back to, ‘What do the fans want?'” he told me. “I keep going back to that Charlie Munger quote: ‘You show me the incentives, and I’ll show you the outcome.'”Casey meant that execs from any tour tend to take their leagues in such obvious directions that it’s not hard to see their goals. And if you look at the golf world, it’s not surprising where certain tours end up, based on the incentives they’re chasing. Casey thinks it would take a bottle of wine – maybe two – and a few hours of chatting to sort out the global golf schedule. He’s not wrong.The next time I saw Casey was five days later, behind the 18th green. He was standing next to me as the Rahm-DeChambeau playoff began.“So,” I asked him. “Does this suffice for product-market fit?”“This is definitely product-market fit,” Casey said, pausing for a few beats. “There aren’t many tournaments in the world like this one.”For so many damn reasons, he was right.—
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