LIV Golf crowds cause for concern after Saudi | Golf News

The opening spherical of LIV Golf Virginia attracted a modest turnout, unless Bryson DeChambeau occurred to be close by.

DeChambeau joined the Saudi-backed circuit in 2022 when LIV Golf burst onto the golf scene and disrupted the PGA Tour, alongside two-time major winner Jon Rahm, six-time major winner Phil Mickelson, and quite a few others.

The first event following the announcement of a Public Investment Fund withdrawal and funding cuts struggled with a notably skinny crowd at Trump National Golf Club on Thursday, though DeChambeau would possibly inform a different story. The 32-year-old LIV Golf star attracted a sizeable following, with followers clutching flags and balls keen for his signature, including one notably enthusiastic supporter decked out in Donald Trump merchandise. It comes as DeChambeau drops injury admission with PGA Championship looming.

Some households gathered in the fan village space, which featured child goats and a dunk tank, while the rest of the course appeared largely empty. A small quantity of spectators settled close to the 18th inexperienced to watch golfers make their manner through from the shotgun start.

The attendance at the Championship Course was comparable to the Sunday finale on the PGA Tour at Trump National Doral Blue Monster, where Cameron Young claimed his second trophy of the season before a equally sparse viewers.

DeChambeau proved to be the main draw at LIV Golf on Thursday, all amid the mounting uncertainty surrounding the tour’s attainable shutdown, which places the two-time Major winner’s future in jeopardy.

“I think, from my perspective, I’d love to grow my YouTube channel three times, maybe even more,” DeChambeau said, while working towards this week. “I would love to. I’d love to do a bunch of dubbing in different languages, giving the world more reason to watch YouTube. “And then I’d love to play tournaments that need me.”

Rahm went on to say that he’ll deal with the future when the time arrives.

“I’ve no concept,” he said. “I could not let you know. I’ve very few abilities in my life, and studying a contract or business aren’t two of them.

“Again, like you just said, as of right now, I have several years on my contract left, and I’m pretty sure they did a pretty good job when they drafted that.

“So I do not see many methods out, and as of proper now, I’m probably not considering about it since we still have a season to play and majors to compete for. So it isn’t one thing I would like to suppose about just yet.”