Bryson DeChambeau, Martin Kaymer urge local residents to come out and watch LIV Golf Houston - “You’ll be a fan for life”
LIV Golf is in Houston this week and Bryson DeChambeau wants the local fans to visit. In his pre-event press conference, the Crushers GC skipper called on Houston residents to attend the LIV event with “an open mind.”
During the interview, the media noted that some of the local residents may be hesitant to attend the LIV Golf event taking place at the Golf Club of Houston from June 7-9. DeChambeau welcomed the residents to the course and claimed that they would become “fans for life” if they decided to watch the event for a day.
Making a plea to the local fans, Bryson DeChambeau said on Wednesday (at 21:38):
“The first thing that I would say is try to keep an open mind just for one day. Come out here one day with an open mind I think you'll be a fan for life.”
Cleeks GC Captain Martin Kaymer also jumped in to back his fellow LIV skipper and encouraged the fans as well. He made a cricket analogy with himself to urge the fans ‘on the edge’ about LIV.
Martin said:
"I think you can only have an opinion about something that you experienced. Going back to the PGA Championship, I talked to a lot of people about LIV. I asked them ‘have you actually watched a shot or have you ever been to an ‘event and some of them said no but ‘I don't like it.’ I said listen, ‘I never watched a cricket game but I would never say I like it or I dislike it because I don't know.’
So as Bryson said, I would also encourage the people to come out for a day to experience it for themselves. If they like it great, if they don't like it that's okay too."
LIV Golf Houston will be the breakaway tour’s final event ahead of the upcoming US Open. The event will see the staple 52-man field compete for the $25,000,000 prize purse.
LIV Golf League viewership continues to rise
LIV Golf has been struggling on the viewership front ever since its inception. Notably, the event initially began airing the event for free on YouTube during its beta season in 2022. However, the circuit began pushing its LIV Golf+ product in 2023 and decided to not stream the first six events of the season for free. It was available to view on YouTube for a fee.
Later on, they made the first rounds of the events available on YouTube for free. However, the final rounds were made available only on LIV Golf + or the CW app. The new season’s debut event in Mexico registered 3.51 million viewers on YouTube and LIV Golf+.
This was a massive jump from 1.36 million viewers drawn at last year’s season opener. Many experts believe that Jon Rahm’s joining the breakaway tour was a major factor in the increased viewership.
LIV Las Vegas, the second event of 2024, totaled 3.03 million as well. However, the Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong events, third and fourth on the schedule, saw a major dip in the viewership. It picked up again in March, for LIV Golf Jeddah. The event, which saw Anthony Kim’s return to professional golf after a decade-long hiatus, got 2.25 million viewers.
Notably, LIV Golf’s fourth event in 2023 had a total of 1.32 million. Despite the ongoing PGA Tour-LIV negotiations and other turbulences, LIV Golf’s viewership numbers have been on a steady climb. The Greg Norman-led series also claims that the ticket sales for the season have also been at a record high.