| LIV Golf’s team aspect is exhilarating and needs to be embraced  Courtesy: LIV Golf The regular season of LIV Golf came to an end on Sunday in a way that could not have been scripted better. The top three players in the season-long Individual Standings - Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia - finished on the podium for the tournament as well. If that wasn’t enough, the top two teams of 2024 - Crushers GC and Legion XIII - were first and second in the Team competition. The tide is definitely turning for the League. On Saturday in Chicago, nearly 16,000 fans walked through the gates, making it the best single-day attendance in the US. Earlier, LIV Golf UK at JCB Golf & Country Club was sold out, as was the tournament in Adelaide, which has been the most successful venue over the past two years. Acceptance is growing, and you can feel it in various ways. The merchandising tent is getting bigger, as well as busier. Items are getting sold out, with Crushers GC - thanks to the team’s success and Captain Bryson DeChambeau’s immense appeal - emerging the most popular franchise. Social media and viewing numbers are also getting better. The League now heads to Dallas this week for the Team Championship, which brings the curtain down on the season. It’s been disappointing that some countries and mainstream media are yet to buy into the team format, because it really is what makes the whole League exhilarating. It’s probably the single biggest factor that makes LIV Golf a very different product from the traditional golf tournaments. Some territories, for obvious reasons, are getting it. The all-Australian Ripper GC winning the Team title in Adelaide was huge for fans Down Under, while the all-Spanish speaking Fireballs, with Sergio Garcia as their Captain, led to some raucous scenes in Valderrama, Spain. One question that is regularly posed is how can fans identify with the teams. It’s easy for the Aussies to root for Ripper, but which country should a mixed-nationality team like Cleeks or Iron Heads appeal to? Or, what is the basis on which Range Goats, Legion XIII and 4Aces have the teams that they have? These are franchises and they are trying to build their own character/brand. Just because FC Barcelona is situated in Barcelona, it has not stopped people from other cities from loving their football. Just because Liverpool is in England, doesn’t mean that all players in their squad need to be from England. The volatility in the team leaderboard during tournaments will set your pulse racing. Take Friday in Chicago for example. At one point, Fireballs were tied for 10th place among the 13 teams. When I checked about half an hour later, they were up to second place as their players combined for five birdies in a two-hole stretch. Or, my favorite team moment of the year, when Crushers came back from 11 shots behind in Jeddah and beat Stingers GC by four shots on the final day. Also interesting is how the team dynamics are helping the members. It starts with mundane things like having a team dinner, traveling together and watching other sporting events, and includes activities like supporting your teammates technically and mentally when they need it. DeChambeau has repeatedly said the turnaround in his form last year was as much a collective effort and motivation from his three team members - Paul Casey, Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri - as the result of equipment change. Or, the time when every member of the Stingers team, including their caddies, staff and even kids, shaved their head in a show of support for Charl Schwartzel’s wife, Rosalind, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. Or, when Ian Poulter hosted the entire Majesticks team in his house in Florida for nearly a week as they brainstormed plans for the year ahead and shot videos that were used by their very successful Little Sticks community programme to grow golf. Hopefully, more people will understand and appreciate these teams going forward. | 
