LIV Golf’s future hangs in the balance, and the tour’s fate rests largely in where the players decide to play their golf next season.
When the Saudi Public Investment Fund withdrew support for the tour starting next season, everything was thrown into doubt. CEO Scott O’Neil was forced to scramble to find new investment, but in the meantime everything fell apart.
LIV Louisiana was postponed due to funding concerns, and LIV told the Hong Kong Open that they could not fulfil their promise to increase the purse size of the event, which eventually led to the Asian Tour cutting ties with LIV. And now the league’s team finale in Michigan has been cancelled.
O’Neil has attempted to reassure players throughout this process, but his words are falling on deaf ears for many LIV golfers.
LIV golfers have ‘lost all faith’ in leadership
Before the PIF withdrew its support of the tour, O’Neil had told LIV players that the league was fully funded until 2032. This proved to be false when this funding was pulled and O’Neil searched for new investors for next season.
This did not land well with many players, and O’Neil’s subsequent efforts to reassure the players on LIV’s future appears to have only made things worse.
They continued to sell tickets for LIV Michigan after it was reported that the event would be cancelled, and the potential reason for that continued to disgruntle players. Flushing It reported that some of the players have “lost all faith” in LIV’s leadership.
They posted to X: “Despite it being reported weeks ago that LIV Golf Michigan will be cancelled and vendors, contractors, the venue, staff and players all being aware, LIV Golf has still not officially cancelled the event. They’re still even selling tickets to fans. Why is that?
“The reason could be due to potential impending lawsuits. LIV Golf players are contracted for 14 events. As LIV Golf sources expect the company to file for bankruptcy in early September, if the events are ‘postponed’ at that time instead of ‘cancelled’, it could remove an argument that LIV Golf did not uphold this part of the contracts.
“This could also help explain why LIV Golf New Orleans was ‘postponed’ earlier this year due to highly questionable reasons and not officially cancelled.
“A significant number of people within the league have told me they have lost all faith in the leadership and smoke and mirrors campaigns only make it worse. The decision to still be selling tickets for the event that will not be played in Michigan also shows a significant level of contempt for fans who will end up out of pocket in completely avoidable circumstances.”
LIV needs its players to buy into their new 2027 model for next season if it has any chance of survival, but judging by this report, the tour is losing the locker room.
We could well see a mass exodus at the end of this season because of the way O’Neil and the tour has conducted itself throughout the process.