The Break: Is LIV Golf done or what?

After a confusing 48 hours or so, here's where LIV Golf seems to stand -- and it's on the precipice of its extinction.

Author

Ryan Ballengee
April 16, 2026

What’s actually happening with LIV Golf

It’s been quite a 48 hours of trying to read the leaves as it relates to the publicized demise of LIV Golf.

There were reports on Monday of vendors, employees and players not getting paid on time, with players threatening not to compete this week in Mexico City unless the internal payouts were fixed and guaranteed.

Then, on Tuesday night, Monday Q Info’s Ryan French dropped his “bombshell” tweet that LIV Golf would be making a huge announcement regarding their future, later saying on a Twitter space (a voice chat) called The Takesmen that LIV Golf could shut down as soon as this week, before the CDMX event.

Wednesday was a full day of reporting about LIV Golf’s future and the league’s attempt at internal and external narrative setting.

James Corrigan from The Telegraph in London reported that LIV Golf executives had been summoned from Mexico to their office in New York for an “emergency” meeting, though the topic wasn’t revealed (but could be surmised).

The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal separately reported that the Saudi Public Investment Fund — which owns almost all of LIV Golf — was on the verge of cutting funding for LIV Golf. They have different priorities, having lost tons of money on the Neom project and in the US-Israeli-led war campaign with Iran. The Saudis cut some other spending on sports, including a multi-year deal with the WTA in tennis.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil shared internally that the league had funding for 2026 and was going ahead “full throttle.” The external narrative shared with former ESPN host Trey Wingo was that this was always the planned transition from the Saudis dumping billions to private equity dumping billions on a path to profitability. He didn’t say the timeline was the same in the original plan, as earlier in the year, PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said funding was in place for LIV Golf through 2032.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier, an avid golf and participant in many LIV Golf and PGA Tour pro-ams, reported Wednesday night that LIV Golf had Saudi backing for the remainder of this season but that it would certainly end after the 2026 campaign. Public documents available for LIV Golf’s UK company show the Saudis invested $266 million in the league’s UK entity in the first quarter of this year. There’s a separate US entity, and that may have received a similar cash injection. If that’s the case, then the Saudis basically already gave LIV their money for the year.

With all that said, what does all this mean? Here are my takeaways, reading between the lines:

  1. LIV Golf managed to maintain funding for the rest of the 2026 season. That may have been a consequence of this emergency meeting, salvaging the rest of the season instead of ending it right now. I’m left wondering if the thing that made Bryson DeChambeau emotional after winning in South Africa was that he knew the funding was being cut and the implications that would have for his and LIV’s future. (Also, maybe that’s why Phil Mickelson played that event and no others this year, including the Masters? That’s more conspiratorial in thinking.) More on that in a minute.

  2. LIV Golf now has to go find investors/benefactors willing to invest billions in the league. They were hoping to get backers to buy into the franchises, but that doesn’t seem to be working for a league with anemic viewership in the US. But, O’Neil has the opportunity between now and the end of the year.

  3. O’Neil has to keep up morale, and that’s why he said carefully what he did in his memo. He’s tried to put a brave and happy face on all of this with sympathetic folks in the media, primarily because no one is going to invest in a sinking ship, either with money or time. If people aren’t being paid on time, that will cause a lot of internal problems.

  4. It’s unclear how LIV Golf can now negotiate with Bryson in good faith regarding a contract extension. They have no idea how much money they’ll have available to them to guarantee to DeChambeau, who is one of their two big stars. They need him to survive.

It would be a healthy position to doubt the future of LIV Golf beyond this season. However, the Saudis can change their mind at any time. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on O’Neil to find at least a half-billion dollars to keep this league going one more year.

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