Harris Poll Shows PGA Tour Vs. LIV Shaping Up To Be a Generational Battle

Poll results show younger U.S. golf fans as more open to the startup tour, and that LIV's controversial Saudi backing is not discouraging fans from watching.

Editor's note: This poll was not commissioned by Morning Read or Sports Illustrated. Will Johnson, CEO of the Harris Poll, is a guest columnist.

Golf’s civil war arrived in the United States this week, as the LIV Golf series makes its American debut at Pumpkin Ridge outside Portland, Oregon. With eight of the top 50 golfers in the world, LIV has doubled the number of elite players it featured since its inaugural event just three weeks ago in London.

But the real fight for golf’s future is better exemplified by the likes of Eugenio Chacarra, who was the world’s No. 2 amateur golfer before he signed with LIV last week, and James Piot, the 2021 U.S. Amateur champion who joined LIV prior to its debut last month.

LIV has already engendered its share of controversy, not least for its support from the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, but the most striking aspect of the PGA Tour-LIV showdown, according to new data from the Harris Poll, is the generational split between the two organizations.

Years in the making, LIV started in June, drawing golfers in part with the promise of guaranteed pay, while the PGA Tour only pays out those who make the cut. It is able to do that because of its near bottomless source of cash: the government of Saudi Arabia, which has a horrendous human rights record, including killing Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Critics have dismissed the Saudis’ interest in sporting beneficence as “sportswashing,” where a disreputable regime tries to rehabilitate its reputation through sports.

The PGA Tour fought back by suspending 17 tour members who participated in the first LIV event.

The Harris Poll surveyed Americans to get a clearer picture of this fight for the future of golf. While a much larger proportion of respondents were familiar with the PGA Tour than with LIV (80% as opposed to 35%), both golf fans and the population as a whole are LIV-curious. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of golf fans and 55% of U.S. adults who both have heard of LIV Golf said that they plan to watch an LIV event this year. Two-thirds of LIV-aware golf fans report already having watched LIV Golf’s first event.

Here are three other trends we found in the data:

The battle for the future of golf is playing out in the younger generations. Younger Americans are more aware of, more interested in and more open to the LIV tour, according to our polling — and the split is sharp. So while 40% of those 45 years old and younger are familiar with LIV, as opposed to 35% of the overall population, that figure falls to 27% among those aged 55 and over. And while 55% of U.S. adults familiar with the league plan to watch an LIV event, that number rises to more than 7 in 10 (71%) among those aged 18-34.

The generational divide is even starker on the LIV’s most controversial aspect — its Saudi funding: Among those aware that LIV Golf is funded by foreign government investments, a majority (52%) of those 45 and younger are OK with the arrangement, while those aged 55 and older report far more frequently that they disapprove.

While polarizing, the Saudi connection is not swaying viewers. Those aware of LIV Golf’s funding sources are nearly evenly split about it (35% oppose the relationship while 36% support it). But by a nearly 2 to 1 margin, Americans say that professional sports funders’ identities have no bearing on whether or not they watch. In much the same way that sports fans are able to keep rooting for their team even if individual players have personal issues, it seems that they are willing to suspend judgment about a league even if its sponsors have poor reputations. This leaves open the question, however, of how potent attempts at “sportswashing” could be: If consumers are able to separate sporting events from their sponsors, it could run the other way, with leagues not transferring their positive reputations back to their funders.

The sporting public is also split on whether the PGA should punish defectors. Interestingly, while younger fans are generally more supportive of LIV, they are also more likely to support the PGA Tour’s suspending golfers who join the rival startup. Among golf fans aware of the PGA Tour’s suspensions, 45% support the decision. At the same time, half of those aware of the PGA’s tradition of awarding prize money only to top performers said that they support the practice, a figure which rises to 54% of both golf fans and those aged 45 and younger.

So while the criticisms of LIV Golf for its Saudi ties are not getting a great deal of traction, neither is the new tour’s more egalitarian spirit. It’s just possible that fans are interested in golf and the sniping back and forth is, to mix sports metaphors, inside baseball.

The bottom line is that the PGA Tour needs to figure out how to retain its share of younger fans — and younger golfers. And the most likely solution is simply going to be quality of play and star power. 

Will Johnson is CEO of The Harris Poll, one of the world’s leading public opinion, market research and strategy firms. Follow him on LinkedIn: William Johnson and follow The Harris Poll on Twitter: @HarrisPoll

This survey was conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll from June 24, 2022 to June 27, 2022 among 1,073 respondents. Figures for age, sex, race and ethnicity, education, region, household income, and propensity to be online have been weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions within the U.S. population. Respondents for this survey were selected from a pool of potential respondents who have agreed to participate in The Harris Poll’s online research. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 4.0 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. 

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