{"id":867479,"date":"2026-08-25T04:52:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T04:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/867479\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T04:52:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T04:52:22","slug":"hate-to-see-it-sharks-shock-verdict-on-liv-future-as-song-choices-expose-damning-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/867479\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Hate to see it\u2019: Shark\u2019s shock verdict on LIV future as song choices expose damning reality"},"content":{"rendered":"

LIV Golf as we know it is over.<\/p>\n

But the breakaway league\u2019s founding chief executive and Australian golf icon Greg Norman hopes it is done for good.<\/p>\n

\ufeffFOX SPORTS, available on Kayo Sports, is streaming The 2026 PGA Tour LIVE & Exclusive | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sad, disappointed, gutted to be honest,\u201d Norman told Skratch\u2019s Alan Shipnuck. <\/p>\n

\u201cI hate to see it wither away. I would rather just see it end.\u201d<\/p>\n

LIV\u2019s tumultuous 2026 came to an end on Monday morning Australian time with former US college prodigy Michael La Sasso edging out former world No.1 Jon Rahm by a shot in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

Rahm\u2019s team Legion XIII were crowned the team champions for the year but has been the case for most of LIV\u2019s existence, the spotlight was shining on what was happening off the golf course.<\/p>\n

LIV Indianapolis was not supposed to be the final event of the season, but with the league drowning in financial issues it cancelled its Team Championship that was due to take place in Michigan this week.<\/p>\n

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman looks on during day three of the LIV Golf Invitational – Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on April 07, 2024 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs \/ GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA \/ Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n

LIV\u2019s New Orleans event earlier in the year was also axed, but the players were baffled by their season finale being chopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a question: Is it just whoever wins the team championship gets the ring, and we just get an Instagram post? That\u2019s it?\u201d Belgium\u2019s Thomas Pieters asked during a press conference on Saturday. <\/p>\n

From all reports, anyone who was on the ground at The Club at Chatham Hills was struck in the face by the financial angst that clouds the league.<\/p>\n

Journalists and fans alike surrounding the practice putting green to catch a glimpse of some of the sport\u2019s biggest names before they were whisked away in golf carts to their starting tee \u2013 due to LIV\u2019s shotgun start \u2013 overheard players openly talking about missed payments.<\/p>\n

Tension was high on the course too with two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson shouted at a fan who yelled out during playing partner Lee Westwood\u2019s pre-shout routine.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you don\u2019t want to say anything now? Say something, I\u2019m looking at you, say it,\u201d Watson demanded.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, LIV\u2019s employees shared major concerns about their future.<\/p>\n

LIV\u2019s hierarchy, led by Norman\u2019s successor former CEO of the NBA\u2019s Philadelphia 76ers Scott O\u2019Neil, have been sprouting \u2018LIV 2.0\u2019 \u2013 a new version of the disrupter circuit without the funding of Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neil recently announced that they have secured the US$250-300 million they were chasing from a mystery investor \u2013 reported by the Times to be a UK-based investment company.<\/p>\n

But like \u2018The Shark\u2019, not everyone is on board with the new vision.<\/p>\n

Rahm and Legion XIII teammates made that clear.<\/p>\n

Some of the most memorable scenes since LIV emerged in 2022 have come from their party holes.<\/p>\n

LIV Adelaide\u2019s party hole has gone viral all four years that the tournament has been staged.<\/p>\n

But this week the crowded par 3 was not a site of celebration.<\/p>\n

Cameron Smith of Ripper GC on the 12th during day one of LIV Adelaide at The Grange Golf Club on February 12, 2026 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Sarah Reed\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images(L-R) Tom McKibbin, Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm and Caleb Surratt of Legion XIII pose with the LIV Golf Team Championship trophy following day four of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills on August 23, 2026 in Westfield, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Rahm\u2019s Ryder Cup and LIV teammate Tyrell Hatton took the chance to make a statement with his walk-up song.<\/p>\n

As the Englishman stepped up to the tee, Queen\u2019s \u201cI Want To Break Free\u201d belted out of the speakers.<\/p>\n

While teammate Tom McKibbin, who emerged from the same Belfast golf club as Rory McIlroy, Hollywood Golf Club, took a similar approach as he chose \u201cBreaking Free\u201d from the Disney movie High School Musical.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old made it clear that he regrets ignoring McIlroy\u2019s advice and joining LIV early last year as the league targeted a wave of up-and-coming talent.<\/p>\n

Legion XIII\u2019s feelings were also made known on the winner\u2019s podium.<\/p>\n

The players could hardly have appeared less enthused as they were presented their trophies and doused in champagne while a plan flew overhead with a Legion XIII banner hanging from it.<\/p>\n

They then pulled no punches in their interviews.<\/p>\n

Two-time major winner and the reigning Masters champion, Jon Rahm and LIV Golf Commissioner and CEO Greg Norman pose for a photo during a LIV Golf announcement at the Park Hyatt New York on Dec. 7, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by Scott Taetsch\/LIV Golf)Source: Supplied<\/p>\n

Rahm, who according to Monday Q Info on X is reportedly still owed around half of the US$300 million multi-year contract he signed with LIV in late 2023, dodged questions about his future with the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m mainly looking forward to a haircut tomorrow morning at 10am because I need one badly,\u201d Rahm joked.<\/p>\n

The two-time major champion added: \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to going home and helping my very pregnant wife with the kids because it\u2019s a 3-v-1 right now. It\u2019s probably a 4-v-1 with the one that\u2019s due in October.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappy to be dad for a few days before I get back for the Irish Open.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Hatton was rushing out the door and eager to slam it behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, well, I think anytime you win is great,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to get to the airport because I have a flight to catch, so that would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone is so disgruntled, however.<\/p>\n

In fact, the league\u2019s biggest star has relished the opportunity to play attack dog.<\/p>\n

Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s future has been a talking point throughout the year, but the two-time US Open champion appears up for the fight for LIV\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n

DeChambeau has close ties to US President Donald Trump and borrowed a move straight from Trump\u2019s playbook when he saw a group of reporters congregated at the driving range of a practice day in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mafia! The mafia is here. You guys love talking s***,\u201d Dechambeau is reported to have said to the media pack.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old carried on his anti-media crusade during proper interviews too, saying he wishes people could \u201cbe open-minded\u201d towards LIV\u2019s survival efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough. It\u2019s not easy. We definitely have a lot against us,\u201d DeChambeau said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI hope people can see that we actually bring value to the game of golf. My wish is that people give us one more shot and be open-minded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it works, it works; awesome. If it doesn\u2019t, we\u2019ll figure things out.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/p>\n

\ufeff\u2018Embarrassed\u2019: Bombshell report reveals \u2018tantrum\u2019 that sparked $6b LIV collapse<\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeffPGA Tour urged to \u2018cut ties\u2019 with huge brand… after \u2018scary\u2019 ad shows woman shoved to the ground<\/a><\/p>\n

Wrap \u2014 Major champ\u2019s incredible turnaround, Rory\u2019s bunker blunder as Scheffler reveals illness issue<\/a><\/p>\n

They were not the only eyebrow raising comments DeChambeau made in the past week.<\/p>\n

In an interview after the final round, he teased in saying: \u201cI think there\u2019s something fun coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of potential moving forward,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an interesting ride, that\u2019s for sure, just as much as I have. Everything that we\u2019ve gone through and the tough moments that we\u2019ve had, they have made us stronger as much as we\u2019re transitioning from LIV 1.0 to 2.0.\u201d<\/p>\n

But then took to Instagram to post a collection of his winning photos from LIV events with the caption: \u201cIt was a good run.\u201d<\/p>\n

While DeChambeau is perhaps hedging his bets, Cameron Smith and his Ripper GC teammates certainly want LIV to carry on.<\/p>\n

Senior figures in Australian golf are confident LIV Adelaide will go ahead as planned next year with tickets on sale for the March tournament at Kooyonga despite the uncertainty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want it to work, really, to be honest,\u201d Smith said earlier this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great fun out here. The team that we\u2019ve got, I feel like we make each other better, better people and better golfers as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d hate to see it go away. We\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWhat we\u2019ve been able to do for golf in Australia is really quite important to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be a shame for all that to go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think (LIV) improves Australian golf.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think all the numbers are up. Memberships are up. Social play is up. I think that\u2019s in part because of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elvis Smylie, Marc Leishman, Cameron Smith and Lucas Herbert of Ripper GC pose for a team photo with their LIV Team trophies during day four of LIV Adelaide at The Grange Golf Club on February 15, 2026 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

LIV\u2019s South Africa event earlier this year was also a smash hit with golf fans starved of seeing top level talent in the flesh.<\/p>\n

So, like Adelaide, the all-South African team, the Southern Guards, do not want to lose their Johannesburg tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about golf; I think golf is just a part of life,\u201d Dean Burmester said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this is way bigger than life, and it\u2019s probably above my pay grade. The proposed LIV 2.0, whatever you want to call it, I think it\u2019s very, very promising and it looks great. I think the model is certainly sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the exact details of the LIV 2.0 proposal are unclear, multiple reports have suggested the new-look league will be shrunk to ten events \u2013 five in the United States and five international.<\/p>\n

Players are also set to have equity and ownership of their teams along with commercial rights.<\/p>\n

But prize purses will be greatly reduced, and LIV will look to work alongside the existing tours rather than against them.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf certainly doesn\u2019t need another five years of fighting,\u201d O\u2019Neil said. <\/p>\n

\u201cGolf doesn\u2019t need one tour to win and everyone else to lose. We shouldn\u2019t live in a world where one group of golfers is uniquely restricted from playing elsewhere. Our goal isn\u2019t to replace or restrict any tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil looks on during day four of LIV Golf New York at Trump National Golf Club on August 09, 2026 in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Photo by Jordan Bank\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

The other tours may not have got that memo, however.<\/p>\n

Reports emerged on Tuesday morning that the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour to form a global series of events, which could begin as soon as 2028.<\/p>\n

The plan is for the PGA Tour to come on board with existing DP World Tour events across Europe, Asia, Africa the Middle East and Australia that fall outside of the PGA Tour season \u2013 which will run from February to March.<\/p>\n

It would seek to elevate those events, and the PGA Tour has already made progress on such initiatives by locking in a deal with the Australian Open to boost its prize purse and help attract more superstars from next year.<\/p>\n

LIV had originally approached Golf Australia and other governing bodies around the world about partnering with national opens.<\/p>\n

But the existing tours have won that battle.<\/p>\n

The DP World Tour has allowed LIV golfers to hold dual membership and is set to allow them to scratch their itch to play in their home countries and around the world.<\/p>\n

One of the original players to jump ship to LIV, Englishman Ian Poulter, told reporters in Indianapolis that he and his colleagues face a big decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be a real shame if LIV 2.0 doesn\u2019t happen,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are players who would love a strong global platform to play on and countries and fans who want us back. Some players will stay; some may go. As for me, I may stay or take some time off. I genuinely haven\u2019t decided yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

BMW Championship Final Round Highlights | 15:11<\/p>\n

What is clear is that LIV will not be what it once was.<\/p>\n

The brash attitude of those who took on the existing tours when the fight was young is well and truly gone.<\/p>\n

Now, they are left looking back on their fond memories of packed galleries in Adelaide and Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

Or of the massive parties they threw in every city they went to.<\/p>\n

And of the bucket loads of cash, they made.<\/p>\n

But ultimately, that original mission of shaking up the world of golf \u2013 of taking down the PGA Tour \u2013 has failed.<\/p>\n

There have been successes, none greater than taking major champions and household names to golf-loving communities around the world who have long been neglected by the powers at be in America.<\/p>\n

But \u2018LIV 2.0\u2019 will look nothing like what Norman envisioned when he finally found the financier for his long-held dream of a global tour that rejects the establishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were a family,\u201d Norman said in his interview with Skratch. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were united by the feeling that we were doing something new and exciting for the game of golf. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt took an unbelievable amount of effort, and there were constant headwinds, but we did it because we believed in the vision.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LIV Golf as we know it is over. But the breakaway league\u2019s founding chief executive and Australian golf…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":867480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-867479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}