Bubba Watson made his LIV Golf League debut in Boston last September, however, he’s yet to play in an event due to injury. He served as an on-course reporter and non-playing captain of his Niblicks GC team.
This week, the two-time Masters champion is in Saudi Arabia for the PIF Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
During his pre-tournament press conference, Watson was asked about growing the game.
“How I signed up with LIV is my 10-year-old son was sitting in the bed with me, and we were watching golf on the TV, and he knew the Aces — everybody knows the Aces, they keep winning,” he said. “He knew the Aces, he knew the Stingers. He didn’t know individual names, he just knew the team names, and for a 10-year-old to never watch the game of golf but now watches it, now I knew that there was a product to be had. LIV has a niche, it has a reason.
“My son is used to the Yankees. He’s used to the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs. He’s used to watching teams, and that’s the one thing that golf — high school golf has a team, college golf has a team, and then one of the biggest events in the world is the Ryder Cup, and it’s a team event. Now that professional golf has a team, we’re going to be able to get the below-60-year-olds watching Golf Channel to the 10-year-olds now wanting to watch.
“I think we’re on to something with LIV, and that’s why I want to be a part of it. When my 10-year-old never watches golf and now watches golf, and my eight-year-old daughter now understands the teams, she knows my new logo, she was a part of — my family was a part of making the new logo and the new team colors. That’s what we’re trying to do.
“To grow the game is not getting the 60- and 70-year-olds to play, it’s getting the young kids to play.”
LIV recently agreed on a broadcast deal with The CW, known for its younger demographic. The first event on the 2023 LIV Golf schedule is in Mexico at Mayakoba, Feb. 24-26.
