Golf Influencers Are the New Currency for PGA Tour and LIV

YouTube golf is big business. The rival tours are staging formal events.

The post Golf Influencers Are the New Currency for PGA Tour and LIV appeared first on Front Office Sports.

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YouTube golf is big business, and content creator events contested by some of the biggest personalities are becoming common on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. The one-day productions take place just before the pro tournaments, generate millions of views, and even add fuel to the ongoing divide.

The first PGA Tour iteration took place last August at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on the eve of the 2024 Tour Championship. Then, in February, the 2025 Creator Classic Series was announced: three tournaments—before The Players, the Truist Championship, and the Tour Championship—streamed on the Tour’s YouTube channel.

Under a new format for Wednesday’s Creator Classic at the Philadelphia Cricket Club ahead of the Truist, the field of 12 is divided into four teams, each comprising two golf-adjecent creators and one non-golf content creator, like TikTok star and BFFs podcast host Josh Richards, Dude Perfect’s Tyler Toney, Paige Spiranac, and Philadelphia 76ers guard Kyle Lowry.

In March, LIV announced The Duels: six two-man teams made up of content creators and LIV pros competing for a $150,000 first-place prize. Just two weeks after YouTube star Grant Horvat won the PGA Tour’s Creator Classic at TPC Sawgrass, LIV announced The Duels would air exclusively on his 1.2 million-subscriber YouTube channel—and that he’d headline the event.

Both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have found success with creator events, albeit with different strategies. The two Creator Classics have averaged more than 600,000 live viewers across various streaming and cable platforms, and generated tens of millions of post-event views on the YouTube channels of the PGA Tour and participating creators. (The Players Championship also saw a 14% increase in attendance on the day of the Creator Classic, compared to the Wednesday before the tournament in 2024.)

Absolute SCENES at TPC Sawgrass last night.

The best moments from the second installment of the Creator Classic

(Presented by @YouTube) pic.twitter.com/gDdos15NNL
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 13, 2025

Chad Mumm, an executive producer of Netflix’s Full Swing, is a cofounder of Pro Shop, the media company that produces the Creator Classic. Last year Pro Shop closed a $20 million Series A funding round with investments from the PGA Tour.

The Duels did not air live but garnered 1.4 million views in the first 24 hours, and has since climbed to 2.3 million views.

As with anything involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, success around content creator events hasn’t come without some drama.

Most notably, the PGA Tour suspended Wesley Bryan, a Tour member since 2017, for competing in The Duels. In addition to playing professionally, Bryan and his brother, George, run a YouTube channel, Bryan Bros Golf, that has more than half a million subscribers.

They each played in the first two Creator Classic events, as did Luke Kwon and Fat Perez. So it was notable when the field was released for Wednesday’s event and didn’t include any of those five creators.

Despite appearances, though, playing in a LIV creator event doesn’t mean getting blacklisted from future PGA Tour creator events.

The PGA Tour is not opposed to having Horvat, Kwon, and Perez back for a future event. “They were all invited, as well, and we intend to keep inviting those guys,” Mumm tells Front Office Sports.

The future of the Bryan brothers is less clear. Wesley’s suspension comes with its own circumstances, and the PGA Tour did not want to comment about George’s future in Creator Classics. However, one source with knowledge of the situation tells FOS that George is not expected to be banned.

PGA Tour SVP of media Chris Wandell told FOS that the plan for the three Creator Classics this year was to “mix it up as much as possible,” which could help explain the diverse field.

Friendly partnerships with creators will be key for both tours moving forward.

Starting with Wednesday’s event, creators will be able to simulcast the livestream of the Creator Classic on their own YouTube channels, which opens the door for millions of new subscribers to watch.

LIV chief marketing officer Adam Harter tells FOS that future editions of The Duels will rotate and be hosted on different content creator channels.

Perhaps the biggest golf content creator LIV could land is one of its most famous players, Bryson DeChambeau, whose YouTube channel has nearly two million subscribers, but did not play in The Duels.

Kim Soo-Hyeon/Imagn Images
“We talk to Bryson about YouTube on a daily basis,” Harter said. “A lot of the changes that we made to the format and the approach were informed by consulting with Bryson. We really respect his opinion and the success he’s had in the space, so he helps guide us and provide input.”

Given this new media landscape, in which creators have access to a largely untapped audience for traditional golf, could it be that leagues like the PGA Tour and LIV Golf need creators more than those content stars need them?
“I think that there should be an alliance, a friendship,” Jess McAlister, founder of golf marketing firm Catalyst9, tells FOS. “I think there needs to be a business understanding.” McAlister represents several content creators, including Tisha Alyn, who participated in March’s Creator Classic. “These people are their own business,” she said. “Their names are their brand; their brand is a media platform.”