The PGA Tour vs LIV Golf: Who Came Out The Winner After Week One?

The PGA Tour has now seen first-hand the competition that they have with Greg Norman and LIV Golf.

This was the first of many weekends where each Tour was battling for viewers, fans, and golfers.

With each event concluded, let’s examine both to decide which Tour came away looking in better shape going forward.

LIV Golf

Their inaugural event took place this week at Centurion Golf Club in London, England, with a unique team-style event.

Each of the more prominent golfers had their pick at the rest of the field, in hopes of creating the most dominant squad. At first glance, the overall production of the event was impressive, with a lack of commercials and creative graphics that added a refreshing touch.

The more I watched it though, the less impressed I was. It was mostly an individual event, filled mostly with less notable golfers that some might not even recognize.

This seemed to affect the viewership, as it went from 94,000 for Round 1 to an underwhelming 54,000 for Round 2.

In the end, South African Charl Schwartzel won the individual event, taking home a cool $4.75 million dollar paycheck. He and his team, the Stingers, led by Louis Oosthuizen, shot a combined -20 to take a shocking 14-stroke lead over the competition.

Their next event in Portland, Oregon, will include potential reinforcements from players like Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, and Pat Perez. Based on the initial reaction, they could certainly use the help.

PGA Tour

This week, the PGA Tour was north of the border for the RBC Canadian Open, an event that hadn’t happened since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We all knew that the Canadian crowd was enthusiastic, but wow. Speaking as someone in attendance on Saturday, the crowd was electric, chanting and supporting the field, including at ‘The Rink’ on Hole 16. To make it better, the World’s best came out to play this week.

In the end, Rory McIlroy was able to defend his title, after shooting a final round 62 to finish at -18. Oh, and Rory also walked away with $1.56 million in winnings, just slightly less than Schwartzel.

Rounding out the top-5 were Tony Finau, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, and Justin Rose. I’m sure that Jay Monahan, who was in attendance, was ecstatic to have his best golfers playing together and competing on Sunday.

Winner: The PGA Tour

I think Jay Monahan was hoping for a good turnout and a notable winner, but this tournament would have exceeded their wildest dreams. The energy and drama throughout the weekend made this a can’t-look-away type of event.

LIV Golf had some flaws and simply couldn’t exceed their high expectations, which means that they have some work to do before Portland.

With this victory, McIlroy was quick to add salt to the wound, taking a shot at Norman after passing him with his 21st career PGA Victory:

"“My 21st PGA Tour win, one more than somebody else, that gave me a little extra incentive today and I’m happy to get it done.”"

Greg Norman and LIV Golf must know that they lost the battle, but that doesn’t mean that they have lost the war.