There’s a new phenomenon in the golfing world and it threatens to change the face of the sport as we know it. LIV golf has taken some established professionals away from the main PGA Tour and they have subsequently been banned from taking part in the competition moving forward.
There’s an uneasy standoff between the two organizations and the only thing that’s certain is the movement of more players to the new set up. Will this dilute the quality of golf around the world or is the PGA Tour strong enough to respond?
Confirmed Departures
Paul Casey is the latest golfer to announce a defection to LIV Golf. His departure closely follows that of Brooks Koepka who made the switch almost exactly a week earlier.
Casey and Koepka join an initial intake of players that includes former Major winners such as Phil Mickelson, Graeme McDowell and Dustin Johnson. A crop of European golfers including Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter have also left the conventional Tours.
The list is expected to welcome more additions in the near future. Speculation is rife over who will be the next to leave and the emergence of LIV Golf is threatening to cause a huge rift in the sport. In all probability, any more departures will be delayed until the 150th edition of The Open Championship is complete.
Eyes on the Fourth Major
If we look at the field for the final Major tournament of 2022, there doesn’t seem to be any hint of a crisis within the world of golf. At present, anyone playing on the LIV Golf Tour is able to play in the Open Championship and any of the remaining three Majors.
That field included current world number two golfer Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman remains loyal to the PGA Tour and is favorite to win the Open, according to Sports Betting Online websites affiliated with sbo.net.
Behind McIlroy is the current World Number One Scottie Scheffler while other challenges are expected to come from Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm.
Following the conclusion of the Scottish Open at the start of June, it is possible that those odds will adjust. Sbo.net will advise their readers of any changes and the updated markets will be accessible via the website.
News and opinion pieces will also appear, together with reviews of all sportsbooks linking in. If readers want to put that knowledge to the test, each of the betting sites referenced will be willing to take on new customers subject to eligibility.
Following completion of the registration process, many of those sportsbooks have generous welcome offers waiting. A range of deposit methods will aid the addition of necessary funds while customer services will quickly respond to any questions.
As the account moves forward, there should also be ongoing offers, mobile betting and in-play markets. This can certainly be a useful site to follow for anyone betting on golf, but will those future markets be depleted in the wake of golf’s new crisis?
A Look to the Future as the PGA Tour Responds
Many neutral golf fans feel that a compromise is needed but that seems unlikely at this stage. The PGA Tour was quick to place sanctions on the LIV Golfers while the DP World Tour followed suit a few weeks later.
For now, there is no way back for those who have made the switch. It may well be the case that legal proceedings will follow as the players in question want the option to play where they want and when they want.
Certain players, Rory McIlroy included, have been very vocal in their criticism of Liv Golf. It’s unlikely that Rory, and anyone else who has spoken out will change tours.
Others have been quieter and those players have been subjected to the media rumor mill. It would be wrong to speculate on names with such an emotive subject, but the only certainty is that more will be joining LIV Golf in the weeks and months that lie ahead.
If the truly big players make the move, then the PGA Tour roster will become severely depleted and that may eventually lead to the compromise that many golf fans are hoping for.
