During a broadcast from Mexico City on Thursday, LIV Golf commentators Arlo White and David Feherty dismissed rumors of the league’s impending collapse, labeling them as “absolute nonsense.” Ironically, just moments after their declaration, the live feed experienced a technical hiccup.
White, a well-known British sports presenter, joined by Feherty, a former PGA Tour player, kicked off their coverage of the latest LIV Golf event by firmly rejecting any doubts about the league’s continuity.
Speculation had surged on Wednesday when the Saudi-backed breakaway tour faced claims of potential dissolution. This crisis talk coincided with an emergency meeting held by executives in New York City earlier in the week.
Despite the swirling uncertainty, recent reports indicate that LIV Golf intends to proceed with its plans up to the 2026 season. This assurance came after CEO Scott O’Neil sent a reassuring email to staff, affirming the league’s ongoing operations.
“I’m pleased to announce that rumors about the imminent downfall of the LIV Golf league have been greatly exaggerated,” White stated confidently during Thursday’s broadcast from Mexico City.
He further elaborated, “I had a constructive discussion with LIV CEO Scott O’Neil just an hour ago. He expressed strong confidence and optimism about the future of the LIV Golf league.”
LIV Golf broadcasters Arlo White and David Feherty rubbished talk of the league collapsing
The Saudi-backed rebel tour was thrown into chaos this week amid claims it could be axed
White then asked Feherty for his thoughts on the drama surrounding LIV this week.
‘I’ve been in the professional game for 50 years now, and I don’t think I’ve ever had two or three days where there was more absolute nonsense that’s spread out,’ the Northern Irishman stressed.
‘There’s still some writers and broadcasters that take pride in their work, but this generation has spawned a bunch of fast typists that consider themselves to be experts. And evidently they’re not.’
White then added: ‘It must be exhausting trying to will the LIV Golf league out of existence. Take a day off everybody and enjoy the golf!’
Yet not long into the broadcast, LIV suffered major technical difficulties when their live feed went down.
Just a few shots into the tournament the screen suddenly went dark before a message popped up which read: ‘Please stand by. Technical issues’.
‘We know many of you were tuning in, and we’re sorry for the disruption,’ LIV Golf wrote on X. ‘We’re experiencing technical difficulties due to local power outages which is impacting our broadcast feed. We’re working on a resolution and hope to be back on air as soon as possible.’
The glitch dragged on for over an hour, coming as a serious frustration to the league after what has been a chaotic week so far – and amid claims that its funding from Saudi Arabia could soon be cut off.
Multiple agents told Daily Mail Sport earlier in the week that they were in the dark over whether the controversial four-year venture, which Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has pumped almost $6billion into since 2022, was on the brink of being abandoned.
Tour execs were summoned for crisis talks in New York as fears continued to grow, though golf insider Michael McEwan first reported on Wednesday night that talk of LIV’s demise looks to have been ‘greatly exaggerated’.
According to McEwan, a high-ranking LIV source confirmed that funding and operations for the competition are ‘continuing as planned’ despite the rumors.
Documents also reportedly state that the tour is ‘tracking $100million ahead through the first five events of this season’. Sponsorship and partnerships are also up 40 percent year on year, ticket sales are up 129 percent, and retail and merchandising is up 26 percent.
O’Neil then 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 ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
LIV CEO Scott O’Neil sent an email to employees reassuring them about the company’s future
‘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 therefore went ahead as planned, with LIV Golf’s official X account sharing a preview graphic on Wednesday and writing in light of the speculation: ‘Slow news day? We are ON. #LongLIVGolf’.
