DORAL, Fla. – One word has been recurring this week during the LIV Golf Team Championship in DORAL: interest.
Before the $50 million finale in Trump National Doral at Trump National, players such as Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson hinted that there may be an active offseason with lots of player movement. However, it is worth noting the same thing was said last year, and only a few changed teams. Thomas Pieters was the most high-profile signing. Not a very good player.
Three captains continued to tease what could be coming Thursday as they discussed the current investment status in LIV Golf. LIV Golf owns 75 per cent of each franchise team. The remaining 25 percent of each franchise team is owned by the principal players. This would include captains like Watson, Dustin Johnson, and Joaquin Niemann.
Watson said, “The evaluation is not a small amount.” Watson most likely meant valuation. “But I believe every team will be different. Some people are curious. Some people just want to play golf. It depends on the team and the person. I want to be informed about everything. “I want to be a part of it, and I want it to move forward and make RangeGoats known.”
Photos from the 2023 Team Championship
Watson said that he had “a few people” express interest in buying RangeGoats GC. The RangeGoats are currently ranked fourth and will have a bye round for the Team Championship. He then clarified that between 10 and 20 people asked him to purchase the RangeGoats and that he “met people this week.”
There’s a lot of interest. Each team will be different, as Watson said. Johnson added, “We have some interest.” His defending champion 4Aces GC is undoubtedly the most valuable franchise. We’ll talk more about that after we finish this week.
Watson and Johnson both discussed the challenges of learning a new job and the way they are learning on the go. The two major winners have had careers that revolved around golf. They are now managing their teams, sponsors and other stakeholders (though each of the 12 teams has a general manager in some capacity).
Niemann of Torque GC, who is the youngest captain in the league by six years, said, “Right Now, I’m pretty focused on playing well on the golf course.” “I believe that the better we perform on the golf courses, the easier everything becomes. “But yeah, I’m lucky to have such a great team that supports me in all aspects of running a business as Torque.”
The team format hasn’t caught on yet with golf fans. However, players and officials of the LIV are in. (Brooks Koepka aside). The 12 teams are not sold but some have signed sponsorship and partnership deals in the past year. It’s unclear when franchises will be sold. The PGA Tour’s framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (LIV’s financial sponsor) is also dragging. Why would a business want to invest in a team that has an uncertain future?
The delay can be viewed as a positive, since teams now have more time to choose the right owner. This was deemed more important by the three captains than just choosing the highest bidder.
Niemann admitted that “there is also a number” before adding, “there are all brands we like to work, something with our personality.”
Watson laughed and said, “All of that is out the window if you have the right number.”
