LIV Golf is bringing a tournament to New Orleans for 2026, with Louisiana committing $5 million to the Saudi-backed tour and an additional $2.2 million for improvements to the Bayou Oaks course in City Park.
“What an unbelievable opportunity to announce this on the 20th-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,” Gov. Jeff Landry said at an announcement alongside LIV Golf officials and LIV player Bubba Watson.
New Orleans already hosts the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana. Watson, who grew up about three hours away in Pensacola, Florida, won the Zurich in 2011 and is excited to play professionally in New Orleans again.
“I’m from the Gulf Coast and this is part my home,” Watson said, drawing laughs when he joked about attending many New Orleans Pelicans games hoping to see often-injured NBA star Zion Williamson play. “I still hope for that day.”
The tournament is scheduled for late June, a time when New Orleans typically experiences extreme heat and thunderstorms. It’s also the beginning of hurricane season, while the Zurich Classic is usually held in April.
“This is the first year of it, so the date can always be changed if it does come here multiple years,” Watson said. “It’s going to be hot in a lot of places in the summer… I’ve grown up in the South; I know about heat. We just prepare for it.”
LIV held a tournament in Dallas in late June this year, with temperatures around 90 degrees.
“We’re going to try it out and then we’ll see,” Landry said. “Whether we’ve got to adjust the dates after this go-around, we’ll see. But my objective is to have this be LIV’s home.”
Louisiana currently provides about $650,000 in economic development funding for marketing and operations to the Zurich Classic. TPC Louisiana also receives periodic state subsidies for course improvements.
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil didn’t specify how Louisiana’s $5 million investment compares to public funding for other LIV events.
“All the markets are unique,” O’Neil said. “They all come with their unique challenges and opportunities.”
The event is expected to generate about $40 million in economic activity for the local economy.
Landry sees the agreement as an opportunity to invest in the course and City Park, one of the largest urban parks in the United States at 1,300 acres.
“This is a public piece of property,” Landry said. “This area needs revitalization.”
The governor, who doesn’t play golf and rarely attends professional tournaments, appreciates LIV’s livelier atmosphere compared to traditional PGA Tour events.
“That’s why I love LIV Golf. No ‘quiet’ signs. It’s a party.”
When asked if New Orleans, with its metro-area population of just over 1 million and limited corporate presence, could support both a PGA Tour and LIV Golf event, Landry was dismissive of concerns.
“I don’t think those events compete against each other,” Landry said. “This is an opportunity to bring a different group of people on another course.”
