LIV Golf not shutting down? CEO says 2026 season will be completed amid speculation over Saudi Arabia funding

Four years after its dramatic launch, LIV Golf's future appears to be tenuous ...

just not before the end of the year
LIV Golf's launch in June 2022 was meant to disrupt and challenge the existing structure of professional golf, creating a rival league for the PGA Tour with a goal to steal the game's top stars to rebuild golf in a new image.

Four years later, the Saudi Arabia-financed league may be on the precipice of closing its doors and leaving the future of some of the game's best players in question ...

just not anytime soon.

The Saudi-financed Public Investment Fund is reportedly considering a dissolution of its multibillion-dollar investment in LIV Golf, according to The Athletic and the Wall Street Journal , amid a reevaluation of its financial commitments in the sports space and the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran.

League executives have been involved in high-level meetings over the last few days in New York with members of the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

However, CEO Scott O'Neil told LIV Golf staff in an email on Wednesday that the 2026 season will continue as planned, without pause, as the league is fully funded through the end of the year.

LIV Golf Mexico City, beginning this Thursday, is the league's sixth of 14 tournaments scheduled this season.

"I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle," O'Neil wrote in the email, which was obtained by multiple outlets.

"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."
He continued: "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."
Many believe LIV Golf's future is tenuous after years of failed efforts to recruit players and establish a substantial audience.

As the PGA Tour itself added private investments and increased purses for its signature tournaments, LIV Golf has struggled to bring in top names after an initial wave of substantial signings while bleeding money -- paying high-priced salaries and putting on events that no one was watching.

The league has reportedly received more than $5 billion from the PIF with losses estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

The long-term financial element has been difficult for LIV Golf, which has not received substantial media rights or ticketing revenue during its four years of existence.

Critics have accused LIV Golf of serving as a sportswashing arm for Saudi Arabia, an operation that existed as a means of improving the country's reputation amid accusations of human rights abuses and corruption.

Proponents suggested it was pushing the game of golf forward, presenting an alternative product with a different format.

However, LIV Golf failed to obtain recognition from the sport's preeminent evaluation body, the Official World Golf Rankings, due to its 54-hole, shotgun-start, no-cut tournaments, and the team competition element failed to catch on with fans.

As such, LIV Golf was forced to change its format and only recently received acknowledgment from the OWGR, moves that may have been too little, too late, considering interest in the league has not grown.

What would happen to LIV Golf's best players?

Two-time U.S.

Open winner Bryson DeChambeau and two-time major champion Jon Rahm are the two biggest stars under contract with LIV Golf, though other burgeoning talents like Joaquín Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton join them on the circuit.

(Five-time major champion winner Brooks Koepka and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed recently departed the league for the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, respectively.)
The PGA Tour has already shown a willingness to create paths for top stars to return; however, it did so while being mindful of the feelings and perspectives of its membership, many of whom declined the get-richer-quicker prospect of signing with LIV Golf to remain loyal and continue playing stateside.

After DeChambeau and Rahm declined the opportunity this offseason to bolt alongside Koepka, that process would need to be reevaluated should LIV Golf shutter.

Koepka's deal , which included a $5 million charitable donation, ineligibility for the Player Equity Program for five years and no FedEx Cup payouts in his first year back, was billed as a one-time offer that was "not precedent-setting," per the PGA Tour.

One option could be for the PGA Tour to offer the same deal Reed received: serve a one-year suspension and regain status via major championship and DP World Tour competition.

DeChambeau and Rahm would still have full-time status upon returning, as they have won majors within the last five years.

The road could be more arduous for others.

LIV Golf's ambitious recruitments
When LIV Golf first began, some believed it presented an existential threat to the PGA Tour.

With billions of dollars in backing from Saudi Arabia, they were aggressive in pursuing many of the game's top stars with lucrative nine-figure deals.

Greg Norman was the head of the venture with Phil Mickelson becoming the public face of the league -- stirring up controversy almost immediately.

While LIV Golf found success recruiting some older players, it was only able to coax a few top stars with promises of guaranteed money and a shortened global schedule.

Dustin Johnson was among the first to sign, followed by DeChambeau, Koepka, Reed and Niemann.

Cameron Smith defected from the PGA Tour shortly after winning his first major at the 2022 Open Championship, helping the league improve its legitimacy outside of the legacies of Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen and others.

The biggest shockwave came after LIV Golf's second season when Rahm, who publicly denied any desire to join LIV when asked on multiple occasions, bolted from the PGA Tour in December 2023, announcing his move in an odd interview after receiving an offer reportedly worth over $300 million.

The Rahm move came months after an infamous "framework deal" was struck between the PIF and PGA Tour Enterprises, which appeared to be a ceasefire, indicating a potential merger was on the horizon.

Years later, despite continued conversations and at least one meeting at the White House, the parties never moved closer together.

LIV Golf's facade began to crumble late in 2025 when Koepka suddenly announced he was leaving a year before his contract was to expire.

He was quickly brought back by the PGA Tour, signaling that the circuit was more willing to negotiate with notable golfers who wanted to return with CEO Brian Rolapp in charge.

Reed's departure followed, and while others declined similar offers, LIV Golf continues to struggle with growing its ranks.

To try and keep top stars happy and better prepare players for majors, LIV Golf expanded to 72-hole events in 2026.

However, while Rahm appreciated the move, DeChambeau wasn't excited about the change, highlighting that it was not what he signed up to do.

Holding onto Rahm and DeChambeau is of the utmost importance for the league.

LIV Golf has produced some successful on-site events, like those in South Africa and Australia, where the PGA Tour does not regularly run, but the global schedule and lack of star power has led to it struggling to connect with fans, who simply do not watch the product en masse.