LIV Golf could switch to 72-hole format: Norman

LIV Golf chief Greg Norman said Wednesday he was “very open-minded” about the Saudi-backed circuit becoming 72-hole events to better mirror the PGA Tour, with conversations ongoing.

Each stop on LIV is currently a 54-hole tournament over three days, with a “shotgun start” where 18 groups of three players tee off simultaneously on different holes, with no cut.

Former Masters champion Jon Rahm, LIV’s latest big-name recruit, last week called for a move to the traditional 72-hole format used on the PGA Tour.

The Spanish star reiterated the comments in Adelaide, sitting next to Norman.

“I think there’s a level of comfort when I say that because it’s a little bit more of what we’re used to seeing in golf,” he said, when asked about the prospect by AFP.

“I think it could help a lot of fans’ trust in LIV a little bit more because that’s a lot of the complaints that I see from a lot of people.”

Norman said he was open to the idea.

“I think from LIV’s perspective, we’re very open-minded about it, but you’ve got to understand there’s economic impact about putting television on for 72 holes,” he said.

“It’s a great conversation to have. We will continue to have that conversation going forward. But we sit back and say, what value do we get putting it on television on Thursday?

“How do we build out in the future? How do we get more people to the golf course? Maybe it is Thursday and you allow another 30,000 people coming in on a Thursday.

“There are things that we sit back and look at to see what is the most optimal solution to make this a better and better and better event, and 72 holes is discussed.”

Rahm used the analogy of global football to rationalise why 72 holes would be better, pointing to all leagues, no matter where, following the same rules.

“In football, European football, you have the Premier League, you have the Spanish League, you have the German League, you have Serie A, you have the Champions League, the Euro Cup, many other things,” he said in Adelaide.

“The one thing I realised is they all play under the same set of rules. While we play under most set of rules, the one key difference is 72 holes.

“That’s one of the main reasons why I believe it could help us.”

But the former world number one also acknowledged that it all depended on what worked best financially for LIV’s powerbrokers.

“At the end of the day, LIV is a business. If it doesn’t fit the product, it doesn’t fit the product,” he said.

“I’m just a player. There’s a lot of people that are a lot smarter than me that can figure it out and explain why they believe 54 holes may be better for them.”

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AFP

(NAMPA / AFP)