PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (NewsNation) — LIV Golf’s second season tees off Friday in Mayakoba, Mexico, at the famed El Camaleón Golf Course, and NewsNation has a first look at what players are expecting this weekend.
“The LIV Golf Tour is a different experience,” legendary broadcaster and former golfer David Feherty said.
Players will compete in 12 four-man teams, including high-profile stars like Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and many more.
“I want the team to win, but I also want to win, too,” Johnson said.
The prize fund remains $20 million for medal play among 48 players, plus a $5 million purse paid out to the leading three teams.
“It’s just a wonderful family environment. There’s a lot of noise. There’s a lot of music around the golf course. The players are really into each other in terms of the team aspect. You know, there are 12 four-man teams out there and there’s a camaraderie that you don’t see on any other tour in the world,” Feherty said.
LIV Golf did not have a television partner for its inaugural season and signed an agreement in January with The CW. The opening round will be available on the network’s app, with weekend coverage on linear TV in the U.S.
It also has streaming on its website for overseas viewers on an app (Liv Golf Plus) and a website (LivGolfPlus.com). LIV added its first corporate partner, EasyPost — an official marketing partner typical of other U.S. golf tours — and some teams have new logos.
LIV Golf’s antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour is still in the discovery phase, and a federal judge this week ruled that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — which owns 93% of LIV Golf — and the fund’s governor can be added as defendants in the PGA Tour’s countersuit. Any trial is not expected until next year.
Mayakoba is the first of three LIV events before the Masters on April 6-9. LIV has 17 players who are eligible for Augusta National.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.