LIV team names, son swayed Watson
Bubba Watson made his LIV Golf League debut in Boston in September. However, he has yet to play in an event due to injury. He was an on-course reporter and nonplaying captain of his Niblicks GC team. This week, the two-time Masters champion is in Saudi Arabia for the PIF Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club. Watson was asked about growing the game.
“How I signed up with LIV is my 10-year-old son was sitting in the bed with me, and we were watching golf on the TV, and he knew the Aces – everybody knows the Aces, they keep winning,” he said. “He knew the Aces, he knew the Stingers. He didn’t know individual names, he just knew the team names, and for a 10-yearold to never watch the game of golf but now watches it, now I knew that there was a product to be had. LIV has a niche, it has a reason.
“My son is used to the Yankees. He’s used to the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs. He’s used to watching teams, and that’s the one thing that golf – high school golf has a team, college golf has a team, and then one of the biggest events in the world is the Ryder Cup, and it’s a team event. Now that professional golf has a team, we’re going to be able to get the below 60-year-olds watching Golf Channel to the 10-year-olds now wanting to watch.
“When my 10-year-old never watches golf and now watches golf, and my 8-year-old daughter now understands the teams, she knows my new logo, she was a part of – my family was a part of making the new logo and the new team colors. That’s what we’re trying to do.
“To grow the game is not getting the 60- and 70-year-olds to play, it’s getting the young kids to play.”