Light and Shadows Left by LIV Golf Korea...Is it a golf tournament or a party culture
Light and Shadows Left by LIV Golf Korea...Is it a golf tournament or a party culture
Blog Article
The frantic party is over.
It is LIV Golf Korea, which was held at Jack Nicklaus GC Korea in Songdo, Incheon for three days from the 2nd to the 4th. It is for the following reasons that the first LIV Golf held in Korea is called a "crazy party."
LIV Golf is a golf league that was launched in 2022 with funds from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. Unlike other tours, LIV Golf does not have its own qualifying function. Instead, it has recruited and operated players active in PGA Tour and DP World Tour around the world. An astronomical transfer fee is paid depending on the name of the recruited player.
While the specific terms of the contract are not known, players with significant weight, including Bryson DeChambeau (125 million U.S. dollars), Phil Mickelson (278.34 billion won) and Jon Rahm (Spain) (600 million dollars) are known to have collected more than 100 million dollars in transfer fees.
Tiger Woods of the U.S. and Rory McIlroy of the Northern Islanders were also reportedly offered a deal of 700 million to 800 million U.S. dollars in astronomical transfer fees, but they declined the offer. Analysts say they put more emphasis on tradition, value and honor than on money.
LIV Golf is awarded in individual and team events. The results of the 13 teams are ranked by summing the scores of the team members. The competition is organized into 14 events every year. The first LIV Golf Korea held in Korea this year was the seventh event of this season. The total prize money per event is 25 million U.S. dollars, which is more than the average prize money of the PGA Tour.
The method of competition is unique, too. The winner is decided by 54-hole stroke play, breaking the general rule of golf competition called "72 hole stroke play." The reason is explained by the fact that "LIV" means "54" in Roman. The 54-member competition is held in a shotgun style (each team tee-off at different holes at the same time) for faster progress.
LIV Golf's catchphrase is "cultural content-type golf festival." It is for fan-centered management. Perhaps this is why it is a "breakthrough" itself, deviating from the existing framework of players' composition, including prize money and stadium atmosphere. It is natural that such expenditures are beyond imagination.
Just look at LIV Golf Korea. The admission fee was 300,000 won per day, 800,000 won to 900,000 won for full-time tickets, and 1 million won to 8 million won for premium and VIP tickets. This is the highest ever among golf event admission fees held in Korea. This is an amount that Korean golfers have never experienced before. For this reason, the number of visitors did not meet the original expectations.
DeChambeau's prize money is also likely to be talked about for some time among golf fans in Korea. DeChambeau won the individual title (4 million U.S. dollars) and the group title (750,000 dollars) to 4.75 million dollars. It was also an unprecedented event that has not been witnessed in a golf competition held in Korea.
The atmosphere at the venue was the "Golf Liberation Zone" itself, as the organizers intended. The spectators did not watch the games, but many fans rushed to enjoy parties and performances with drinking, singing and dancing. Of course, not a few fans rushed to leave the venue due to the so-called culture shock.
As such, people who like and dislike LIV Golf are clearly divided. Fans who want the golf course to become a venue for a noisy festival are naturally pleased to enjoy it, but it is natural that they do not like it from the standpoint of aiming for dirty golf.
There is another decisive reason for the unfavorable situation. Prince Bin Salman, the de facto owner of the PIF, is suspected to be behind the assassination of Saudi Arabian dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In fact, a number of PGA Tour players refused to go to LIV Golf, citing Saudi Arabia's human rights issues.
As a result, the composition of the two teams fell short of expectations. The biggest blow is that they failed to recruit Woods and McIlroy, who made tremendous efforts. Ram and DeChambeau are said to replace Woods and McIlroy, but the deal has little impact.
Another unfavorable factor is that although some young blood has been transfused, most of them are less competitive on the PGA Tour, and that some of them have been rumored to be gambling and drug addiction.
The so-called "Jang Yu-bin" effect has caused the Korean golf fans' interest in LIV. Jang, who dominated the KPGA Tour last year, declared his departure for LIV one week before the PGA Conferry Tour Finals, which he had originally planned. It was a shock to fans who wished to see him advance to the PGA Tour.
As Jang's performance has fallen short of expectations, interest in him seems to be declining. In this year's LIV Golf Korea, Jang only tied for 48th. With half of the season's schedule completed, the points ranking is currently at 52nd, which is in the relegation zone.
LIV Golf has a platform. The promotion system classifies three zones: Lock Zone (1st to 24th), Open Zone (25th to 48th), which is subject to automatic renewal, and Drop Zone (49th or lower), which is automatically demoted. Jang Yu-bin is a recruitment case of a three-year contract, so he will remain if he ranks within 48 points, but if not, he will have to qualify for the league through LIV Golf Promotions.
If that doesn't work, he has to come back to the KPGA Tour. Then, he can try the PGA Tour, which he postponed. However, he is also not in a position to participate in the PGA Tour's official championship for one year from the time when the LIV Golf is over.
The reason why many golf officials did not like Jang Yoo-bin's trip to LIV Golf was because they were concerned about the result. It is true that he is still young and has more time than other players of his age due to his military service problems due to winning gold medals at the Asian Games, but it is regrettable that he does not show a "challenge."
On the other hand, Kim Min-kyu (24, Chong Kun-dang) and Lee Seung-taek (29, Kyung-hee) are trying to advance to the big league with constant challenges. The two are playing a concert tour with the DP World Tour, respectively, using the benefits of KPGA's business agreements with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. 카지노사이트
Among them, Lee Seung-taek, who is currently ranked 10th in points at the Conferry Tour, is highly likely to advance to the PGA Tour next year. The PGA Tour will award all the top 20 points at the Conferry Tour