How Did LIV’s Dallas Debut Stack Up to North Texas PGA Institutions?

Few regions in the country approach North Texas when it comes to top-tier talent, fan support, and infrastructure in the sport of golf. It’s why the PGA of America moved its headquarters from Florida to Frisco in 2022, where the organization now has two championship courses and a golf-centric entertainment district. And why North Texas has long boasted two marquee PGA events in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and the Charles Schwab Challenge.

So it stood to reason that eventually the upstart LIV Golf tour would make its way to the region, too. It finally happened last weekend, when the LIV Golf Team Championship was held in Carrollton at Maridoe Golf Club.

For the uninitiated, LIV is financed by Saudia Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, whose seemingly unlimited resources have helped it attract some of the biggest names in golf, including Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Dallas’ own Bryson DeChambeau, and legend Phil Mickelson. A major reason why: that money is guaranteed, unlike on the PGA Tour, where you get nothing if you miss the cut.

Unsurprisingly, there’s plenty of animosity between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. In the summer of 2023, the PGA Tour announced that it was working on a deal that would allow it to “work cooperatively and in good faith” with LIV and the DP World Tour (the former European Tour). That’s yet to come to fruition and may never given that sports investor John Henry committed up to $3 billion in the PGA Tour in a deal that would give nearly 200 players equity. The goal? Help the league compete with the Saudi’s deep pockets, not collaborate.

But what does it mean for the fans? How do experiences at LIV Golf events compare with the tradition of the PGA Tour? That question was answered this past weekend at Maridoe. Here’s a look at the top pros and cons of that event and how it compares with the Byron Nelson and the Charles Schwab Challenge.

We’ll start with the legacy events.

CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Established in 1944, the tournament now known as the CJ Cup Byron Nelson has been held at various North Texas courses through the years, including Lakewood Country Club and Preston Trail Golf Club. It moved to McKinney’s TPC Craig Ranch in 2021.

A big pro is the fact that it’s run by the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, whose hundreds of volunteers help ensure a good fan experience by providing spectator directions, controlling the crowds for players, and more. The tournament is also a leading fundraiser for charity on the PGA Tour, having raised a total of more than $143 million.

TPC Craig Ranch is a super easy course, so fans also get to see plenty of scoring. This year, Canadian Tyler Pendrith won with a score of -23. It also offers one of the only stadium-style holes of any tournament—No. 17—a unique viewing experience that creates a party atmosphere. (It was inspired by the famous hole 16 at the WM Phoenix Open.) The Choctaw Club, added on hole 16 in 2023 (it also offers views of hole 12), lets fans get out of the summer heat and play blackjack, craps, roulette, and more.

The biggest con this year was a lack of hometown representation. The world’s top player, Highland Park’s Scottie Scheffler, missed the tournament, as he and his wife were expecting their first child. Jesuit alum Jordan Spieth missed the cut, while Plano’s Will Zalatoris withdrew to recover from an injury ahead of bigger tournaments coming up. (That’s liable to happen at an event traditionally held the week before the PGA Championship.)

Then there’s location. While Craig Ranch is a big improvement over previous host Trinity Forest, I also heard complaints at the event about having to drive all the way to McKinney. The layout of the course can be a little challenging to navigate for spectators, and there isn’t much shade, either.

Charles Schwab Challenge

Founded in 1946, there is deep tradition with this event, played in Fort Worth at Colonial Country Club. The event is run by the Colonial membership, which continues to make incremental improvements for both the players and the fans. They pretty much perfected it this year, with a meticulous course redesign inspired by the 1941 US Open at Colonial. (It was led by Jim Wagner and Gil Hanse, who also helped design PGA Frisco.) The improvements also created better walkways and more viewing areas for fans.

The history and tradition of the tournament are palpable. It honors the late Ben Hogan, a long-time Fort Worth resident and five-time winner of the event. With a Scottish tartan plaid jacket presented to champions, it can feel like a mini-Masters. It’s also one of only a handful of “invitational” tournaments on tour, which only adds to the prestige.

One of the disappointments this year was the removal of the old-time scoreboards, where volunteers would post the scores by hand. Both the boards and the volunteers were replaced by video boards, which felt a bit out of place. Trees were also removed on the perimeter of the course, which detracted from what used to be an Augusta-esque feel.

Lastly, like the Byron Nelson, the Colonial’s timing on the golf calendar doesn’t help the field. In recent years it’s been held the week after the PGA Championship, which means you can expect some of the bigger names to take a week off instead of make the trip to Fort Worth.

LIV Golf Team Championship Dallas

The format of the LIV’s second Texas event—LIV Houston took place in June—guaranteed a different type of golf experience from the jump. The Team Championship is similar to the Ryder Cup in that there is a knockout format that combines match and stroke play, which, in LIV’s words, creates “head-to-heads all over the course.” Players are seeded based on their performance in the 13 regular season tournaments.

A big pro is that fans are guaranteed to see top players throughout the entire tournament. With no cut, you can buy a Sunday ticket secure in the knowledge that you’ll see your favorite player even if he’s having an off week. Tickets were also much more affordable than Tour events, with three-day passes going for under $90. LIV does not disclose attendance numbers, but the Sunday turnout looked healthier than the Byron Nelson’s, for instance. (The overall attendance across the LIV event was almost certainly dwarfed by the Nelson, though, which announced an attendance total of more than 200,000 spectators.)

And you can expect to have a great time when you’re there. Partying isn’t limited to hospitality suites at LIV. The day starts with a bang: a guy on a microphone pumping up the crowd, yelling out, “Are you ready for this, Dallas?!” as the Frog-X parachute team floats down from the sky, carrying flags of different LIV golf teams.

Music blares throughout the day, across the entire course, even during play. It didn’t stop there, either. Like Formula 1 events, there was a big concert at the end of the day. Bailey Zimmerman and Martin Garrix performed, and it felt like a private show due to the intimate venue and small crowd size.

As far as the tournament itself, the time that you’ll spend on the course is shortened. A shotgun start ensures players tee off at essentially the same time on different holes. The trade-off is, if you want to see Phil Mickelson on hole 17 and Bryson DeChambeau on hole 7, you’re going to have to move fast.

Another noticeable difference is a lack of volunteers and trained tournament staff. Compared to the bench strength and finely honed teams running the McKinney and Fort Worth Tour events, it seemed a bit chaotic at times at Maridoe. It also was difficult at times to follow who was up against who. You have to really know golf to understand what’s going on.

Nevertheless, LIV Golf and Huddleston are probably happy with the Dallas debut, based on the size and enthusiasm level of the crowd. That only makes the local scene more robust. Whether you’re a traditionalist or prefer your golf to be a bit less buttoned-up, adding LIV to the PGA events guarantees something for everyone. The competing tours may not be getting along anytime soon, but at least the competition delivers plenty for the rest of us to watch in North Texas.