A senior executive from LIV Golf told TG on Thursday that “99 percent” of the league’s staff were informed of the decision during the recent Mexico event, with others told in the coming days during meetings.
Following a call with the team captains on Wednesday, LIV Golf released a statement on Thursday outlining its “strategic intention” for life after the PIF, including “opportunities to reposition the business for future success” as well as new board members and leadership who will be “reinforcing an investment-based model” for the teams and franchises.
PIF chairman, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who founded LIV Golf in 2022 and has played an integral role in its rise, has stepped down as chairman.
But the league’s future is perilous without the PIF’s backing of its $30 million events. In a four-year period, the PIF has split the men’s professional game irrevocably by signing some of the sport’s biggest names, including Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.
The league’s CEO, Scott O’Neil, has already conceded that he will need to secure outside investment for the league after rumors swirled about PIF’s withdrawal during their latest stop in Mexico. The league’s tournament in New Orleans in June was cancelled this week.
“The reality is that you’re funded through the season, and then you work like crazy as a business to create a business and a business plan to keep us going,” O’Neil told TNT Sports in Mexico in an interview that was later deleted.
TG reported on Tuesday that multiple LIV players are sounding out the DP World Tour as fallback options should the league fail to secure alternate funding and cease operations after the 2026 season.
And it has emerged that the PGA Tour are fielding similar calls. Golf Digest claims that players and agents are reaching out to Ponte Vedra HQ, but they have been told their route back to the circuit will come with stricter conditions than Brooks Koepka’s reinstatement earlier this year. A contrived Returning Members Program which also offered the chance for DeChambeau, Rahm and Cam Smith to return this year is not expected to be repeated.