Busan: Marking the start of the second edition of LIV Golf Korea on this hot and humid Thursday afternoon, defending champion Bryson DeChambeau teed off on the first hole at Asiad Country Club in Busan with AC/DC's "Back in Black" blaring through the speakers behind him. DeChambeau promptly unleashed a towering drive just as Brian Johnson belted out, "I'm glad to be back." Thousands of golf fans who descended on this southeastern city are surely glad LIV Golf is back here, too.
According to Yonhap News Agency, LIV Golf, launched in 2021 with funding from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), arrived in South Korea this week under a cloud of uncertainty. PIF, which has reportedly spent over US$5 billion on LIV Golf, announced at the end of April that it will withdraw its financial support after this season.
With LIV Golf scrambling to raise up to $350 million from investors amid reports that it was preparing to file for bankruptcy in the United States, fans on Thursday were just happy to get a closer look at some of golf's biggest names. Many of them said they were fans of DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, a pair of two-time major champions whom LIV Golf lured with lucrative contracts. Rahm and DeChambeau are also first and second in the individual standings this season, each having won two tournaments apiece.
And if this ends up being the final season for LIV Golf as many pundits predict it will be, then there will be more than a few disappointed fans. "This is my first LIV Golf tournament and it'd be a big shame if it turns out to be my last one," said Jang Mi-hee, a DeChambeau fan from Busan who didn't travel to Incheon, just west of Seoul, to see the inaugural LIV Golf Korea in 2025. "The atmosphere around here is different than other golf tournaments I've attended before."
Indeed, a LIV Golf event isn't your average golf tournament. The one noticeable difference is the constant playing of music in the background, even as players are hitting their shots. While other golf tournaments are contested in silence, with marshals and volunteers holding up "Quiet Please" signs to warn fans, LIV golfers teed off Thursday to a playlist as eclectic as the field of 57 players from 21 countries.
Rahm's group was the first to tee off on the first hole, with Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" and Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" firing up the crowd. Then it was off to The Fratellis, Lil Wayne and Philip Bailey. For DeChambeau's group that followed, AC/DC was joined by Bad Bunny and The Notorious B.I.G.
The gates opened at 11 a.m., about two hours before the shotgun start, and fans quickly flooded the official merchandise tent set up near the putting green. The shop offered everything from polos and hoodies to bomber jackets, club headcovers, ball pouches and markers -- all of them bearing logos of LIV Golf's 13 teams or the name of this week's tournament. Before the tournament began, fans could also try their hands at chipping and miniature golf, or go into The Swing Lab to work on their game.
LIV Golf brings elements of a music festival to its tournaments. Last year, K-pop stars G-Dragon and IVE were on the bill. Korean DJ Peggy Gou will be the featured performer for this year's tournament Saturday evening.