PGA Tour cult hero Michael Kim has brutally trolled LIV Golf over its viewing numbers after Caitlin Clark's impact on women's college basketball was laid bare.
Iowa superstar Clark and her Hawkeyes teammates attracted 12.3 million viewers on ESPN for their Elite Eight victory over LSU, reaching the March Madness final four. It was the most-watched women's college basketball game in history.
While many were hailing the impact Clark has had on her sport, one-time PGA Tour winner Kim saw an opportunity to launch a cheeky dig at LIV. The Saudi Arabia-funded league – which counts the likes of Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka among its roster star-studded roster – has struggled to move the needle with viewers since it launched in 2022.
LIV has been unable to land major broadcasting deals, with its tournaments screened on The CW in the United States. In the UK, the league has no broadcast partner and its events are shown on YouTube.
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The tour has inked a broadcast deal with global streaming platform Caffeine TV, and it claimed the service delivered 4.5 million viewers over the three days of LIV's event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last month. LIV Golf's chief media officer Will Staeger claimed the total global viewership for the event was six million.
However, many fans have doubted the credibility of the ratings from Caffeine TV, with LIV's broadcasts on YouTube – a significantly more popular and mainstream platform – accruing less than 500,000 viewers across the three days in Jeddah.
And Kim joined in on the fun, posting on X in response to the news of Iowa and LSU's record-breaking broadcast: "Yeah, but what are [the] Caffeine TV numbers? Could be 123 million."
LIV Golf's reported viewing figures have been questioned by fans (Getty Images)Kim is ranked 111 in the Official World Golf Ranking but has had a tricky start to the year, missing four cuts in his past 11 starts. His best result of the year so far came at The American Express in January when he finished tied for sixth.
But his popularity has grown in recent months, surging beyond 100,000 social media followers thanks to his humour and authenticity. One example came when the South Korea-born American lamented the fact many social media accounts use the wrong images of him and other Asian PGA Tour players.
“My career goal is not to win the Masters, nor is it a certain amount of majors or tour wins," he posted on X. "My goal is for just ONE calendar year, have the media use photos of ME and not another Asian golfer when making a post about me. Impossible? Maybe, but they say set lofty goals.”
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