The PGA Tour events of 2021-22 have wrapped up for the season, with the limelight relocating towards the LIV Golf Tour. The tour is organizing its inaugural season this year with eight tournaments and is expected to evolve into a league format in the following year.
However, the controversy-laden LIV Tour, which is still in its rudimentary stage, has left the fans perplexed regarding its future and also the players who are going to take part in the tournaments. The article will try to address these confusions and discuss the betting contrasts of this tournament as compared to the highly celebrated PGA Tour.
A Few Words About the LIV Tour
The LIV Golf Tour is funded by the Public Invest Fund of Saudi Arabia. It has been said that the purpose of the tournament is to compete with the one and only PGA Tour, the highest level of professional golf for almost a century. “Golf, but Louder” – as its slogan says.
However, the concept of money-rich paydays and extravagant marketing has brought controversy to its name. The well-known golf associations have questioned the integrity of this event, claimed to be the richest in the history of golf. The PGA Tour has also announced to suspend its members who are going to take part in the tournaments arranged by LIV Golf.
This brings a dubiety regarding the participation of star players in the LIV Golf tournament. The three tournaments arranged so far have featured 48 players each. Although most of them are yet to be superstars, we have surely come across some big names like Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Charl Schwartzel, and Graeme McDowell. And we can surely expect a few more before the second season.
The Differences in the Format
The LIV Tour is nothing different from the PGA Tour, apart from a few exceptions. The ultimate goal is to finish the 18 holes in the fewest possible strokes, with scores calculated as under/over 72 pars. However, LIV Golf tournaments are featuring three rounds instead of four. With smaller golf courses acting as the venue, the number of players is also significantly less. The 48 players commence each round together with a shotgun start.
How Is Betting in LIV Tour Going to be Different?
The LIV Tour is expected to expand to fourteen tournaments in the upcoming season. Besides the odds of the players, there are a few things to keep in mind while placing a bet in this new event.
To begin with, one must consider the players taking part in a tournament. We can clearly see that the LIV Tour events are featuring a considerably smaller number of superstars as compared to betting on the PGA Tour, which means that the fans are left with fewer solid choices to place their bets on. Keeping the champions aside, however, the results can be paradoxical as well. The newcomers with relatively little information about them have the potential to make the final table unpredictable.
The next thing to consider is the timing of the LIV Tour events. The golf season usually commences in spring and continues through the entire summer, eventually concluding before winter. If the upcoming LIV Tours are organized in the latter half of the golf season just like this year’s schedules, it can be expected that quite a number of players are going to part ways from the tournament due to the hectic timeline. The chronology of a season is surely going to give some idea to the fans regarding the form of the players and their exhaustion levels, helping in turn to place their bets.
Last but not the least, the tournaments are going to take place in smaller fields with three rounds as mentioned above. So basically, the players have to complete 54 holes in three days instead of 72 in four. The name of the tournament is itself a reference to this characteristic since LIV in roman numerals is 54. It obviously means that the tour is going to be less intricate that its counterparts.
The LIV Tour Has a Long Road to Cover
Right now, the introductory season of the LIV Tour makes it look like an easier place to bet as compared to PGA Tour. However, the tour will also gain momentum with time, and increase its radius when it comes to players, events, and tournaments. This can make things complicated in the future. The fans are advised to keep a close eye on the betting odds and the results to better understand the way things are going to unfold in the future.
English
German
Norwegian
Spanish
Leave a Reply