LIV Golf Could Be Going By the Wayside Soon
New reports suggest that LIV Golf, the rebel tour that broke away from the PGA Tour in 2022, could be shuttering soon. LIV CEO Scott O'Neil disagrees with that sentiment, although the reports indicate that the Principal Investment Fund, the financial arm of Saudi Arabia, could pull funding, and O'Neil can do nothing about that.
Scott O'Neil believes LIV Golf isn't going anywhere
Scott O'Neil took over in 2025 as CEO for LIV, replacing former Major winner Greg Norman. A little over a year into his tenure, there's a real concern that the golf tour could be closing its doors pretty soon, throwing everything into chaos.
The LIV Golf CEO disagrees with that idea. "I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle," O'Neil wrote in response. "While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before."
"The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure," the CEO continued. "We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we've answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports."
LIV Golf's future has often been up in the air, especially while it battled with and then tried to merge with the PGA Tour. But now, the sense is that its days are numbered, which would be consequential for everyone still involved.
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LIV's promising start
LIV Golf seemed to be on the upswing for a while. The tour was able to successfully poach notable players and real talent. Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, and Brooks Koepka are all former Major winners. DeChambeau and Koepka won after joining. Smith joined fresh off his Major win, and Rahm did less than a year after winning The Masters.
Plus, Phil Mickelson is one of golf's greatest players. They gave the tour a collection of talent that really did make the PGA Tour squirm. Jay Monahan, then-CEO of the Tour, had to make some sweeping financial changes to cull the exodus to LIV.
Then, LIV seemed to have made enough noise to force the PGA Tour to consider an alternate future with both tours. They initially agreed to a framework merger with PIF. The idea was that LIV would continue as is under a massive for-profit entity with the PGA Tour.
Talks about that merger went on for a long time, and as the PGA Tour continued to rack up small wins over LIV, the likelihood that they'd agree to a deal that left the rebel tour as is dwindled. Eventually, the whole thing pretty much fell through the cracks, and that's when the downfall began.
The downfall
For the entirety of that time, LIV Golf had come up largely because they had landed some real talent. They also had a ton of money to play with. It didn't translate, though. The difference in format and the boisterous nature of what was once a pretty reserved sport turned fans off. They struggled to get a TV deal, and even when they did, hardly anyone watched.
Then, rumors of players wanting to leave began to persist. Eventually, Brooks Koepka did leave, and he returned to the PGA Tour under heavy penalties. The offer was extended to DeChambeau, Rahm, and Smith, but they declined.
Shortly after, firebrand Patrick Reed, who'd been LIV through and through, decided to return to the Tour even though he can't even play until August. Now, with funding potentially being pulled, the tour might come to an end.
