'LIV Golf Is On A Much Stronger Footing And Its Legitimacy Is On The Rise'

LIV Golf might not have brought in any marquee names from the PGA Tour this winter but the league has been busy signing off on a number of fresh deals.

There's two that stand out; its new link-up with Fox Sports in the US and its new CEO Scott O'Neil, who replaces Greg Norman.

The biggest name joining the league for 2025 won't actually be hitting a shot, with YouTube giant Rick Shiels announced as an ambassador to create content for his channel, which has 2.9m subscribers, from all 14 LIV events.

And on the playing side of things, LIV didn't manage to bag a Jon Rahm-style signing this year but added a heap of young talent to its roster in Tom McKibbin, 22, Yubin Jang, also 22, Luis Masaveu, 22 as well, and Frederik Kjettrup, 25. Ben Campbell also joined from the Asian Tour as well as Promotions winner Chieh-Po Lee.

So, how would we rate LIV Golf's off-season? A number of our writers have their say...

Nick Bonfield

Rating: 8/10

It's been a good off-season for LIV Golf and the moves the circuit has made – certainly on a strategic level – have undoubtedly strengthened its position in the global professional golfing landscape.

It's also clear that LIV isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and you can draw your own conclusions from that. Surely the next step is some sort of special dispensation for LIV players to compete on the PGA Tour and vice versa, but how that looks is anyone's guess.

Instead of a disruptive and high-profile player move – like Jon Rahm last off-season – LIV has worked on the bottom end of its roster and added players with great potential, such as Tom McKibbin, Luis Masaveu, Frederik Kjettrup and Yubin Jang.

Perhaps more significantly, Greg Norman has been replaced as CEO and a blockbuster rights deal has been struck with Fox Sports. A number of teams have signed apparel deals as well as the league itself bringing in new partners. Commercially, the tour is on a much stronger footing and its legitimacy is also on the rise. It's been a very successful off-season.

Jonny Leighfield

Rating: 6/10

It depends how you define 'success.'

Looking at off-course changes, a new TV deal with Fox Sports was extremely significant, as was a change in CEO, it seems.

Both alterations will allow LIV to kick on and edge slightly closer to the PGA Tour in terms of its popularity. Plus, several of the teams switching to established apparel sponsors only strengthens their standing in relation to the wider golfing world.

Rick Shiels' signing could also potentially bring more young and impressionable fans to LIV, perhaps taking them from the PGA Tour.

However, the quality of player signed by LIV this off-season has been fairly underwhelming on the face of it. Voices from within the league have said the tour is looking to sign more young talent with a view on the future, but - with all due respect - the new players joining for 2025 are unlikely to encourage people to tune in just yet.

Should those guys make an immediate impact or start making waves at the Majors, then maybe it becomes a different story. But for now, I'd argue the roster hasn't really been strengthened.

Matt Cradock

Rating: 7/10

Overall, I think there have been slightly more positives than negatives in terms of LIV's off-season and, although there haven't been any 'star signings', like Jon Rahm last year, the big moves have come in terms of a TV deal and one of YouTube golf's biggest names.

It's hard to argue that Fox and Rick Shiels won't bring a few more eyes to its product, something that LIV has struggled with in the past.

What's more, with the likes of Grant Horvat partnering with Phil Mickelson and notable apparel brands joining up with multiple teams, it seems that companies are starting to accept that LIV is here to stay.

Certainly, the most notable change for me doesn't lie in the younger talent signing, but more in the League's new CEO, Scott O'Neil. The move seems like it will be a big positive for the league and, subsequently, makes me think we may be nearing some tranquility in the professional game.

Elliott Heath

Rating: 8.5/10

LIV Golf has enjoyed an extremely solid off-season window with a number of impressive bits of business completed including the Fox deal, its new CEO, hiring Rick Shiels as an ambassador and a handful of young talented players.

O'Neil looks to be an astute operator with an experienced CV and the Fox deal will surely grow the league's US audience. Add Rick Shiels' reach and audience to that and LIV's brand awareness will undoubtedly rise in 2025.

There might not have been a marquee player signing this winter but McKibbin, Jang, Masaveu and Kjettrup all look to be future stars that add to the likes of Niemann, Puig and Surratt who are already some of the game's best young talents.

There was definitely talk of LIV having a 'weak' and 'ageing' roster a couple of years ago and those claims are definitely no longer true.

A number of big brands have come on board this off-season too including Reebok, Greyson Clothiers, Castore and Riyadh Air to strengthen the league's commercial ties.

One thing worth noting that is yet to be sorted is a UK TV deal, with the league currently still free to watch on YouTube. This will surely be on the to-do list for O'Neil and his team.

LIV has built on what it already had very well this winter and its appeal vs the PGA Tour will surely only continue to grow as it looks to become a genuine rival and close the gap in the TV ratings battle.

As LIV gets stronger and the PGA Tour's viewing figures remain fairly underwhelming - aside from Rory McIlroy's Pebble Beach win that bucked the trend - it is surely time for the PGA Tour and SSG to get the PIF deal done as soon as possible and reunite the sport.