LIV Golf to begin 2025 with unorthodox approach in Saudi Arabia

LIV Golf is going under the lights.

According to LIV Golf’s official website, the season-opening event in Riyadh, scheduled for Feb. 6 to 8, will begin at 6:15 p.m. local time in Saudi Arabia. Given that Riyadh Golf Club is eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, LIV Golf officials felt that conducting this event under the lights would help allure American golf fans. American viewers will see LIV Golf’s first tournament of 2025 begin at 10:15 a.m. ET — a much easier wake-up than other tournaments held in the Middle East.

Typically, major events held in Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates begin while most of the Western Hemisphere is asleep. The rounds usually finish by 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. ET, which means fans in the West cannot catch the ending unless they wake up early.

But LIV officials decided to get creative, using lights to illuminate the course so the world’s most important market could tune in at a reasonable hour. Last month’s Crypto.com Showdown, which saw PGA Tour stalwarts Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler defeat LIV Golf stars Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, also took place under the lights, perhaps inspiring LIV officials to implement this tactic in Riyadh. The Showdown proved to be a major letdown for numerous reasons, though, with one of the reasons being the night-time sky. The golf ball was sometimes challenging to follow, but maybe LIV’s broadcast team will enhance that with advanced tracers and lighting to ensure easier viewing.

Another reason for this unorthodox approach could be LIV’s new broadcast deal with FOX Sports. The network plans to broadcast a healthy dose of LIV events to the United States this year, marking Fox’s first golf broadcast since the 2019 U.S. Open. Yet, it’s worth noting that LIV’s season-opening event falls on the same weekend as the Super Bowl in New Orleans, which Fox owns the rights to this year. Fox has yet to announce whether or not it will air this season-opening event in Saudi Arabia, but the tournament is slated for Thursday, Feb. 6, to Saturday, Feb. 8, ensuring that it does not conflict with the big game.

The WM Phoenix Open is also that weekend, thus setting up a competitive slate of golf between the PGA Tour and LIV.

At any rate, LIV officials are trying something different, hoping to garner more attention across the United States.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.