Bob Harig has followed LIV Golf from its inception and shared insights into a wild first season.
The formation and inaugural season of LIV Golf has been the biggest story in the sport this year, with money the underlying theme.
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SI Golf’s Bob Harig has followed LIV Golf from the beginning, including covering six of its first seven events in person, and he’s in Miami this week for the Saudi-backed league’s inaugural Team Championship. In a Sports Illustrated Daily Cover story published Wednesday, he details a wild summer of excess that has polarized professional golf and changed the lives of more than just the players.
Harig learned that LIV Golf’s first season cost a total of $784 million, and $1 billion is the expected spend next year when LIV Golf rolls out a 14-event schedule with sites around the world.
“I couldn’t be happier,” said 46-year-old Pat Perez, who left the PGA Tour to sign a four-year deal with LIV Golf believed to be worth $10 million. “Look, I know I can’t beat those kids anymore. This was a great opportunity for me. I have nothing against the PGA Tour; they did a lot for me, but I had to earn everything I got out there.”
LIV Golf is a far different experience, with guaranteed money for players and enormous purses funded by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, a considerable source of controversy. In his cover story, Harig breaks down the PIF and how its wealth has bought a piece of the golf world.
Source: SI