LIV Golf is set to proceed as originally scheduled despite recent explosive rumors suggesting it might be disbanded imminently, according to new reports.
The Saudi-backed tour found itself in turmoil on Wednesday when speculation arose about a possible shutdown, leaving players and staff anxiously seeking clarification.
Several agents revealed to the Daily Mail Sport that they were uncertain about the future of the contentious four-year-old project. Backed by nearly $6 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund since 2022, the tour’s continuity appeared to be in jeopardy.
Amid escalating concerns, tour executives were called to an urgent meeting in New York this week. However, golf insider Michael McEwan reports that speculation about the tour’s collapse seems to have been “greatly exaggerated.”
McEwan cites a senior source within LIV Golf, who assures that funding and operations are proceeding as planned, despite the swirling rumors.
Additionally, reports indicate that the tour is performing well financially, with a $100 million lead through the first five events of the current season. Sponsorship and partnerships have surged by 40 percent compared to last year, ticket sales have increased by 129 percent, and retail and merchandising have risen by 26 percent.
LIV Golf will continue as planned for the foreseeable future despite talk of a potential collapse
The Saudi-backed rebel tour was thrown into chaos by claims it was on the brink of shutting down (Pictured: Saudi PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan with President Donald Trump, 2022)
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington has also revealed that LIV CEO Scott O’Neil recently sent an email to employees reassuring them about the organization’s future this year.
‘I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,’ an excerpt from the email reads, via Darlington. ‘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. 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.’
While its long-term future remains in doubt, it appears to be business as usual for LIV this season.
Thursday’s event in Mexico City is therefore set to go ahead, with LIV Golf’s official X account sharing a preview graphic and writing in light of the speculation: ‘Slow news day? We are ON. #LongLIVGolf’.
The Mexico City showpiece is scheduled to begin at 1:15pm local time on Thursday.
LIV Golf launched back in 2021 and sent shockwaves through the sport, positioning itself as a rival to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
LIV executives were reportedly summoned to New York for an emergency meeting. CEO Scott O’Neil is pictured during last month’s tournament in South Africa
The breakaway league attracted some of golf’s biggest names, including Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, before leading European players such as Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton also joined.
LIV’s emergence sparked a fierce divide in the game. European Ryder Cup stalwarts Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood effectively ended their participation in the biennial event by joining the Saudi-backed league as the PGA and DP World Tour imposed sanctions on players who defected.
However, five-time major winner Brooks Koepka quit earlier this year to return to the PGA Tour, while former Masters champion Patrick Reed also walked away and is competing on the DP World Tour as he bids to return to the PGA Tour.
Rumors over LIV’s future began to swirl this week, with the Financial Times reporting that Saudi’s PIF was close to cutting its backing and the Telegraph also suggesting executives had been called to an ’emergency meeting’ in New York.
A LIV source later revealed to the Daily Mail that ‘executives and senior leadership’ are currently in Mexico ahead of this week’s tournament, although it remains unclear when the delegation arrived in Mexico.
