There will always be jobs for the boys with LIV's transfer window

Signing a struggling, veteran player who has made little to no impact on previous teams makes zero sense in professional football. Then there’s LIV Golf’s latest attempt to gain relevancy.

Earlier this month, the Saudi backed tour launched golf’s first-ever transfer window with player movement, free agency and new team rosters in progress for the start of the 2024 season which tees off in February.

In football, the opening of the off season transfer window is met with much fanfare as silly season takes full swing and Fabrizio Romano dusts off the cobwebs and cleans his keyboard in anticipation of the first “HERE WE GO” appearing on Twitter (X).

Fans of football clubs around the world are eagerly refreshing social media, checking all the gossip sites as they clamour for that big money signing announcement. It’s very hard to imagine even the most staunch LIV Golf fan out there doing the same.

Over the last few weeks, top stars like… eh, Pat Perez, have re-signed for their LIV teams but this week brought about the first mega signing of the inaugural transfer window.

Speculation has been rife over whether Masters champion Jon Rahm is going to move from the PGA Tour to LIV. So, you guessed it, the first major singing of the off season is…. Graeme McDowell. To Smash GC, captained by Brooks Koepka.

This transfer has gathered a lot of traction online, but not for the buzz and excitement, more for the why? This is hardly what Phil Mickelson meant when he said a catalogue of talent from Europe and the PGA Tour were lining up to join LIV for next season?

As Roy Keane used to say about Manchester United, LIV Golf really looks like it’s ‘jobs for the boys.’ Is this LIV’s version of signing Jonny Evans back?

LIV has been criticised and laughed at for its depleted attendances – outside of Adelaide. Clips have done the rounds on social media of fantastic golf shots being met by a handful of claps if not stoney silence. Singing announcements like these won’t attract more fans through the gates.

Don’t even start on the signing video of McDowell on the Smash GC socials. Fully expecting new LIV signings to start saying “up the toffees” with a clenched fist at the end. It’s all cringe.

It is remarkable to think that LIV Golf has been good for the game as far as the four major championships are concerned. The return of the Saudi tour defectors to golf’s big four events have created countless storylines both on and off the course. Koepka threatening to win the Masters at golf’s Mecca -Augusta National- as it were was box office viewing just for the potential reaction.

His win at the PGA Championship was thrilling and it showed that perhaps the cream of the crop on LIV can still compete on the biggest stage.

While their presence in major championship fields is intriguing, the ability to take LIV seriously is non existent.

The McDowell transfer to Smash GC underlines how forced and contrived LIV is. In what world would Brooks Koepka be completing his team with a struggling player in his 40s who has made minimal impact on the tour over the last two years?

G Mac has one top-10 in two years on LIV and finished a lowly 42nd in the individual standings last year prompting the Cleeks GC to bin him off ahead of the following season.

Three successive top-14 finishes on the Asian Tour was hardly enough to earn a flickering glance from a five-time major champion?

McDowell and Koepka could argue though, that this is a good signing. After all, the Cleeks did reach the semi-finals of the Team Championship while Smash GC were dumped out at the quarter-final stage.

Last year there was no relegation from LIV, this year there was and now they’ve added in a transfer window that at first glance, seems like a safety net for the old boys club.

McDowell and Koepka are pals but Ricky Elliott (Koepka’s caddie) and McDowell are both Portrush natives and are close friends and the 2010 US Open winner even said himself he persuaded Elliott to throw in a favour with Smash GC.

“I obviously didn’t want to put Ricky in a tough situation with Brooks and kind of be an advocate for me coming to Smash next year.

“But certainly there were plenty of whispers in the ears over a few beers, trying to kind of say, ‘Hey, listen, how cool would this be? Can you put a good word in for me with the chief?’”

Football fans will be familiar with the term ‘plastic.’

LIV are constantly trying to drive this team format over individual competition. In Formula One, fans are much more concerned with how their favourite driver is performing in the Driver’s Championship rather than the Team Championship. Copying other sports formats won’t work.

Next week is the inaugural LIV Promotions Event which is essentially a four round Qualifying School. The field has yet to be published but it is expected that a strong PGA Tour contingent will be teeing it up in Dubai. Would it have not made more sense to transfer someone who earns promotion from that?

Looking ahead to the 2024 LIV season – without watching – it will be interesting to see how McDowell fares alongside Koepka and co. Can he improve on a dismal two years so far and claim a first win since the 2020 Saudi Invitational?