(NEXSTAR) — You’ve probably heard a lot of talk about LIV Golf, the latest pro tour to join the sport. But you may be wondering: What does the “LIV” in LIV Golf stand for anyway?
Maybe to your surprise, “LIV” isn’t an acronym. Instead, it’s the Roman numeral for the number 54, as NBC Sports reports. The outlet explains each LIV Golf tournament will have 54 holes, 18 fewer than a typical PGA event.
The organization’s format differs from the PGA Tour in other ways as well.
On the LIV tour, 48 golfers play events over the course of 3 days. LIV tournaments include shotgun starts and don’t include cuts, which LIV says allow fans to “watch their favorites throughout the event.” For context, PGA Tour events currently have around 70 to 80 players teeing off sequentially during 72-hole tournaments, and cuts are made after the early rounds. That means your favorite pro might not even be playing come Sunday.
Beginning with the 2024 season, however, PGA Tour events will have no cuts. As ESPN reports, PGA Tour members voted March 1 to trim the size of the field and do away with cuts.
For the uninitiated, “cuts” refer to the elimination of players who have fallen well behind the leaders after the initial rounds of play in a weekly tournament. Per PGA Tour rules, championship golfers must place in the top 70 to make the cut. Beginning in 2024, as with LIV Golf, PGA Tour players will be able to advance, not matter where they place.
Although LIV Golf is not the first tournament to operate without cuts, the league boasted the day of the PGA Tour announcement, saying via Twitter: “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Congratulations PGA Tour. Welcome to the future.”
“The only reason no-cut events are a big deal is because LIV has come along,” said professional golfer and PGA Tour member Rory McIlroy earlier this year, according to Associated Press. “So there is precedent for no-cut events. Is there maybe going to be a few more of them? Maybe. … You ask Mastercard or whoever it is to pay $20 million for a golf event, they want to see the stars at the weekend. They want a guarantee that the stars are there.”
LIV Golf’s next tournament begins Friday in Orlando and will run through April 2. From then, the next tournaments will be held in Adelaide, Australia, from April 21 to 23. The tournament at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club runs April 28 through 30.
Starting this year, LIV Golf events air live exclusively on the CW Network. According to LIV Golf, weekend tournaments air live on Saturdays and Sundays on both the CW and in the CW App. Tournaments on Fridays air in the app only.