So LIV Golf is not shutting down … just yet.
A wild day even by LIV standards had Saudi Arabia pulling the plug on the league and proving even a Public Investment Fund worth $1.15 trillion — yes, with a ‘t’ — has a limit when it comes to throwing money at a product without a return on investment.
And that commitment has surpassed $5.3 billion since Greg Norman’s baby was birthed in 2022.
Of course, Norman is out. Enjoying his piece of that pie, likely hundreds of millions of dollars, for taking orders from Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor, who so desperately wants a seat in the golf eco-system, but has been rebuffed at every turn.
Norman was replaced by Scott O’Neil, who released an internal statement to the LIV staff on April 15 amid the swirling rumors the league was being axed, to boost their confidence.
But one has to wonder how much confidence anyone working, playing, sportswashing when it comes to LIV has on its CEO when he ends the memo by saying:
“Now we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”
I believing O’Neil misspelled the word: “Irrelevant.”
LIV Golf resonated in Australia, Saudi Arabia but not in US
OK, that may be a bit harsh but it’s certainly the case when it comes to the U.S. LIV may have resonated in places like Australia and Saudi Arabia but its viewership numbers have been embarrassingly low here.
And the league recognized that. For the first time, we heard its executive pushing LIV as the “world golf league” this season, hoping for that to be the recipe for survival.
O’Neil also wrote in that memo, which was obtained by SI.com, that LIV is proceeding with the 2026 schedule with “the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder and more influential than ever before.”
Before adding: “The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure. 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.”
LIV golfers can believe that or they can start ringing up the PGA Tour, like Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed already have done.
O’Neil’s memo came amid reports in The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal on April 15 that PIF is cutting funding to the league. As CEO, O’Neil is trying to put out this raging fire with a squirt gun.
What those reports mean in the immediate future is unclear. Reuters reported that people with knowledge of the PIF’s investment and LIV operations said funding would continue and the remaining nine tournaments of the 14-event 2026 schedule are still being held, including this weekend’s tournament in Mexico City.
LIV made Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm rich
LIV Golf has done one thing; made a lot of people rich. And not just those who defected from the PGA Tour such as Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Cam Smith and many others. Koepka and Reed were part of that group before returning to the Tour, Koepka this year and Reed in 2027.
When it comes to the PGA Tour, LIV ironically benefitted those who spurned the league the most. Those players can thank LIV for the creation of signature events and $20 million purses, and the players receiving equity in their league.
LIV Golf held leverage over the PGA Tour in December 2023 with the stunning announcement it had signed Jon Rahm, the No. 3 golfer in the world. Tyrrell Hatton joined him soon after. We were promised more big names would follow.
The league could not sustain that momentum. Not one significant player has signed since and it lost Koepka and Reed. Then came Donald Trump acting as if he could unite LIV and the PGA Tour with two meetings in the White House 14 months ago that served nothing but to cater to his ego and have him believing he could save golf.
He failed.
Those meetings were the last time the two sides met and it’s the PGA Tour now holding all the leverage.
And LIV hanging by a thread.
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: LIV Golf CEO trying to convince its players league is ‘compelling’
Reporting by Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
