LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has responded to speculation that the Saudi-backed circuit is “on the verge” of collapse, insisting the 2026 season will proceed “uninterrupted and at full throttle.”
Rumors regarding the future of LIV Golf intensified in recent days following a report from The Financial Times claiming that Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), worth around $925bn, was “on the verge of cutting its support for LIV Golf”. This followed a report from The Daily Telegraph claiming an “emergency meeting” was to take place involving high ranking LIV Golf executives with speculation growing that a seismic announcement would be imminent.
Nevertheless, O’Neil put cold water on the mounting rumors in a memo sent to his staff, obtained by the Associated Press on Wednesday.
“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil said.
“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 organisation that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.
“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. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”
The memo did not disclose information on the future of the breakaway tour beyond the 2026 season however a LIV Golf player, whose name cannot be disclosed, revealed at an event in Hong Kong earlier in the season that funding for LIV would remain in place until 2032.
The official LIV Golf X account also appeared to quell rumours with a post reading: “Slow news day? We are ON. #LongLIVGolf”
Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia commented on the uncertainty in a press conference ahead of the circuit’s upcoming event in Mexico City this week.
“Honestly, we aren’t going to listen to anything except for what Yasir [Al-Rumayyan, LIV Golf chairman] told us at the start of the year, that he is behind us, that they have a project for many years,” said Garcia in translation.
“As you know, there are always a lot of rumours. I can’t tell you anything more than we already know.”
PIF is believed to have committed around $5bn into the circuit and it was reported that last year LIV Golf’s net losses in its international markets outside of the U.S. climbed to $461.8m in 2024 meaning the figure for total losses rose to $1.1bn since its establishment in 2021.
This week the fund unveiled a new five-year investment strategy focusing on “sustained value creation” and “efficiency of investments” which suggested a pivot in spending priorities with governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan stating: “Local investment should be 80% and we aim for international investment to be 20%.”
LIV Golf burst onto the scene and attracted high profile players with the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, and Tyrrell Hatton all signing contracts with significant pay increases. However, it has consistently struggled to gain the same attention as the PGA TOUR with key criticisms over its lack of competitiveness and exhibition feel.
The introduction of the new circuit in the world of men’s professional golf shook the established order. Then came a framework agreement between the PGA TOUR/DP World Tour and PIF announced in June 2023, but this has still yet to come to fruition.
Recent months have seen the likes of Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, who switched to LIV Golf, perform u-turns to rejoin the PGA TOUR which left questions marks over the circuit’s future and if other big names would make a comeback to the premier golf circuit. But DeChambeau, Rahm, and Smith all confirmed they would remain with LIV Golf.