If there was any lingering doubt that LIV Golf can genuinely challenge golf’s traditional tours, then 18-chaotic holes on Monday morning (AEST) settled the debate once and for all.
LIV Golf might be strange, different, and financially backed by a reprehensible source, but as a golf product, it’s the real deal.
No majors were handed out, nor were any world ranking points, but even if it was only for a few hours, you wondered if it really mattered?
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In the coming days, the dust will settle on LIV Boston and its flaws, some of which are mentioned below, will become more obvious.
But it still won’t take away from the fact that Greg Norman’s breakaway tour had its moment in the sun on Monday, and it didn’t fail to entertain.
LIV Boston came down to a wild six-way shootout that saw big names Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Lee Westwood, Anirban Lahiri and Talor Gooch spar for one of the biggest purses in golf.
The winner would pocket $A5.9 million in a purse worth almost $A37 million.
The shotgun starts meant all six were playing at the same time, trading blows on the leaderboard in a chaotic finish.
Remarkably, five of those six players were at some point leading the tournament in the final nine holes.
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LIV Golf had been painted by many as a glorified exhibition, but you only needed to take a look at the nerves of the players to realise it was worth far more.
Westwood was eight-under for the day through 15 holes and in a share for the lead before he inexplicably had two bogeys in the final three holes.
Smith, the world’s No.2 golfer, was in a similar situation, going eight-under through 16 holes until an errant tee shot with two holes to play saw him make his first bogey and drop out of contention.
Lahiri had the putt of his life on the 18th, a seven-footer for eagle that would have given him the outright win. He shockingly burnt the edge.
In the end, the event was won by one of the world’s best players, Johnson, in LIV Golf’s first ever playoff.
He made an eagle with a monster putt that travelled at speed until it hit the back of the cup, popped up, and landed in the hole.
The crowd went wild as Johnson became the first American to win an individual event on the LIV tour, beating Niemann and Lahiri in the tree-way playoff.
Meanwhile, LIV Golf’s biggest recruit, Smith, was left to rue his pulled tee shot that cost him a spot in the playoff.
Smith turned his back on the PGA Tour for a reported $A140 million, but it was clear in Boston that he’s not there to merely cash-in a pay cheque, like the underperforming Phil Mickelson might be accused of.
Smith looked switched on throughout and played some of his best golf, particularly in the final round when he threatened to win it all from five shots back at the start of the day.
Smith doesn’t show a deep range of emotion on the course at the best of times, but he was clearly pumped up after chipping in for birdie at the 14th hole, while he looked devastated by his bogey at the penultimate hole.
It’s also hard to ignore that for finishing in a tie for fourth, he still walked away with $A1.5million.
All of this is to say that even with 54 holes, no cut and no ranking points, it felt like a proper golf tournament — and a pretty big one at that.
Still, there are shortcomings that will need to be addressed in the future.
The shotgun starts meant that some of the leading players, including Smith and Westwood, were playing in front of empty galleries at the first, second and third holes with the vast majority of people occupying the 18th.
Imagine if either Smith or Westwood held their nerve and won it all in front of virtually no one. That was a distinct possibility on Monday.
Having so many players still in contention and playing at the same time, while the team event was also still up for grabs, created a rapid-fire frenzy for the viewer that will not resonate with everyone.
Meanwhile, some find the broadcast itself as a source of frustration.
The commentary team of Arlo White, Jerry Foltz and David Feherty, along with on-course commentators Su-Ann Hend and Troy Mullins, are constantly gushing over the product.
Tweets from people enjoying LIV Golf are regularly displayed and discussed during the coverage, while players are almost always immediately asked after their round about how much they enjoy LIV Golf.
You just wonder how much better it would be with none of that. After all, golf fans get golf. If the product is strong, it will shine on its own.
We should also be cautious of any recency bias. Just because LIV Golf has had the most recent big event, it doesn’t take away from the fact that last week’s Tour Championship was a triumph for the PGA Tour with a thrilling, big money showdown between Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler.
Nonetheless, this was a massive step in the right direction for LIV Golf that clearly isn’t going anywhere.
Another event in Chicago takes place in just two weeks, followed by a triple header in October that ends with a finale in Miami.
With the exception of the Presidents Cup at the end of September, the PGA Tour won’t have a playing field as strong as anything in LIV Golf until next year.
LIV Golf has intentionally targeted this window for most of its events and appears set to prosper greatly.
You just feel that, given how quickly the golf landscape has changed since February 2022, that February 2023 will look significantly different again.
