Why Is LIV Golf Struggling To Poach Players From The PGA Tour?

Scott O'Neil looks to be doing some more astute business in his second off-season at the helm but the high-profile departure of Brooks Koepka and the fact LIV has struggled to capitalize on signing Jon Rahm two years ago makes it appear like the PIF-backed operation has had a change in tactics.

TV ratings in the US have largely been disappointing, the polar opposite to the PGA Tour which is beginning to look like it is coming out of the civil war as the victor with LIV seemingly going down the 'world tour' route.

The PGA Tour was in real danger in 2022 and 2023 when some of its biggest stars like Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka made the move before Jon Rahm followed to become the second highest-paid sportsperson of the entire year.

Since Jon Rahm, though, the league has struggled to bring in anyone as close to his star-power. Tom McKibbin was the circuit's biggest signing last year while, if The Times' report is true, Thomas Detry will have that honor this time around as things stand.

McKibbin is one of the game's brightest prospects, as is Josele Ballester who arrived in the summer, and Detry is an experienced pro who ultimately strengthens LIV's roster. But he's not a top-10 player or a Major winner and will not encourage people, outside of Belgium, to tune in.

Worryingly for LIV Golf, again if true, it has failed in signing Si Woo Kim, Akshay Bhatia and Max Greyserman this winter. All three are very solid mid-tier PGA Tour players, but if LIV can't even tempt golfers of this calibre over then it certainly looks to have lost its edge.

This is the same LIV Golf that signed Cameron Smith when the Australian was World No.2 and had just won The Open. Smith commanded a huge nine-figure fee, one that pales in comparison to Jon Rahm's figure, who followed the 2022 Champion Golfer of the Year some 16 months later while reigning Masters champion and World No.3.

From the outside looking in, it feels like the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund is tightening LIV Golf's purse strings.

The league has spent billions in its first four seasons, but there has not been a big nine-figure signing since Rahm, with its dealings of late looking sensible but vastly different to the original strategy where it seemed like no golfer was too expensive.

It is now looking more global and is intent on strengthening the mid-level of its roster instead of going for the standout names.

The league enters its fifth season in 2026 and is still without world ranking points after Greg Norman reportedly told players they would come in the early days. Sanctioning by the OWGR seems like a matter of when, not if, now but it is still not a great look for the league when trying to tempt world top-50 players over like Kim, Bhatia and Greyserman.

And while the story is about LIV Golf, the bigger picture may be how the PGA Tour has managed to evolve itself in the face of serious competition.

The Tour has the majority of the game's top players including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Xander Schauffele just to name four.

It has the Sports Strategic Group and its $3bn war chest funding it, Tiger Woods taking an important role on the board and new CEO Brian Rolapp "aggressively" trying to improve things.

Players have equity in the Tour, purses have been going up and up and PGA Tour players are likely very happy with where they find themselves right now.

Brooks Koepka wants back, and it's easy to see why with guaranteed OWGR points, high TV ratings and the best players in the world to compete against in legacy tournaments.

LIV Golf's new strategy appears to be accepting that the PGA Tour is untouchable and instead come for the DP World Tour and the mantle of being a 'global' golf circuit.

Its new signings will help with that, and a deal with the European circuit could be a sensible play somewhere down the line, albeit the DP World Tour has a strategic alliance with the PGA Tour so that looks very difficult.

The start-up gave it a great go and had the legacy American circuit very, very worried. It forced seismic changes and made the players richer than ever, but the Tour has responded very well in the face of what was a massive threat that was poaching some of its stars and biggest characters.

Further changes are coming to the PGA Tour with SSG's billions, which clearly believes there is plenty of untapped potential for growth coming in the future. The PGA Tour changes that are eventually going to come will be a big moment for the game, and its players know it.

The fracture in golf isn't over and there are likely plenty more developments to come, but for now I assume these are some of the reasons why more PGA Tour players seem to be staying put for the time being.