LIV Golf Announces Ticket Sales Record, Only to Get a Rude Awakening

The rivalry between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is heating up once again. In its early days, LIV faced heavy criticism over its team format, with stars like Rory McIlroy leading the backlash. But this latest comparison between the two tours isn’t about format—it’s about crowds.

During LIV’s Chicago stop, reporter Josh Carpenter noted that attendance was up 25% compared to last year. LIV quickly used that as proof of its rising popularity and contrasted it with the PGA Tour’s struggles at the FedEx Cup Playoffs, where McIlroy’s absence left thin stands in Memphis. The message was direct: while the PGA Tour battles to draw fans, LIV is positioning itself as golf’s hottest ticket.

Carpenter’s latest post only added fuel to LIV’s narrative. “@livgolf_league says it sold out of grounds passes for Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis,” he wrote. “Local TV reports anticipated crowds of around 50,000 for the three days.” That would beat the 40K in Chicago last week and even top the 43K for the league’s UK event in July. The figures suggest a steady upward trend in LIV’s live attendance. They also give the league a talking point as it measures itself against the PGA Tour’s struggles.

The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoff opener in Memphis may have looked sparse without Rory McIlroy, with insiders even calling last year’s event “a ghost town.” Still, the Tour is projecting around 120,000 fans at the BMW Championship, a turnout that dwarfs anything LIV has managed. Even when its stars sit out, the Tour’s ability to draw remains on another level.

History backs that up. U.S. Opens and The Open Championship routinely top 200,000 attendees. Against those benchmarks, LIV’s crowds in the 40,000–50,000 range highlight growth, but they remain far behind the PGA Tour’s long-established dominance in attracting fans.

Fans dismiss LIV’s numbers in bold comparisons with the PGA Tour

Some fans were quick to downplay LIV’s attendance claims by pointing to the PGA Tour’s massive turnouts. “Add them all up and you get close to one day at the Phoenix Open. One day. Lolol,” one user scoffed, The Waste Management Phoenix Open set an unmatched record in 2018 with more than 719,000 fans for the week and over 216,000 in a single day.

While another added, “So, 70,000 less than the BMW Championship that LIV honks are talking about not being attended well. 😂😂😂” The reactions clearly portray the sentiments of the fans. And the numbers back them up. Last week, LIV drew 334,000 viewers across all media while the FedEx St. Jude Championship pulled in 3.6 million.

One fan argued that LIV’s season has only produced one truly notable crowd. “Bullshit. The only ‘large’ crowd at the course followed Douchamble. It was weak everywhere else.” This says a lot about LIV’s consistent media struggles.

Fans then jabbed at how LIV achieved those numbers. “Josh—many people I know in Indy (including myself) were offered free tickets by Chatham Hills members. The Westfield public school system also didn’t have school today due to the event,” one user claimed. Another piled on, saying, “Everyone I spoke to there said they got their ticket for free.” 

Whether those claims are true or not, LIV has not won the fight it started with the PGA Tour. Will LIV be able to truly challenge the PGA Tour’s crowds in the future? Or will that remain a silly fight over social media?