Golf Australia agrees partnership with LIV tour

LIV Golf understood to have agreed a deal to help fund Golf Australia’s junior program, in the first formal relationship between the governing body and the Saudi Arabia-backed entity.

The arrangement - which involves LIV and its Ripper GC franchise of Australian players led by Cameron Smith - is understood to be a result of lengthy negotiation.

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, a formal announcement is expected to coincide with this weekend’s LIV tournament in Adelaide.

The deal sees LIV and Ripper GC make it cheaper for some children to access My Golf, the national body’s junior program.

According to Golf Australia’s annual report, in 2022/23, 33,000 children participated in My Golf, a figure that grew 22% on the previous year.

The cost of My Golf varies depending on the location and type of program. A single after school session can cost less than $50, but a regular hit over a school term is priced in the hundreds of dollars.

Golf Australia’s decision to accept the subsidies from LIV is the first major step by Australia’s golf establishment towards the upstart tour.

The PGA of Australia (PGAA), the body representing tournament and club professionals and organiser of the Australasian Tour, is still aligned with LIV rival the DP World Tour.

As Australia’s manager of the game, Golf Australia remit is on building participation and the body receives funding from the Federal Government.

However, Golf Australia and the PGAA have largely combined operations, adding a layer of complexity to the deal.

Golf Australia Chief Executive, James Sutherland, said last month Australia looked at LIV differently from other parts of the world, commenting “there’s clearly an ‘anti’ or a conservative sentiment about the Saudis in the US, and the further east you go on a world map from America, the more moderate the views are.”

LIV Commissioner Greg Norman said on Wednesday he was “very proud” of investments his organisation was making into golf generally.

Norman stated “if it wasn’t for LIV, these additional investment dollars going into the sport would never have happened.”

In excess of 80,000 people are expected to attend the LIV Adelaide tournament this weekend, with local tourism bodies welcoming the high level of hotel occupancy it will bring.

According to recent data from CoStar, the LIV Golf event is expected to have hotel occupancy sitting around 78% yesterday and today, on par with the level achieved last year.

Similar occupancy rates were achieved during the Santos Tour Down Under in January, while the Adelaide Festival in February and March boosted occupancy levels to 82.5%.

Norman has described the Adelaide event as the “benchmark” for LIV worldwide. LIV golf is funded by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund.

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