LIV Golf returns to Trump National Bedminster this week, but the event is being overshadowed by uncertainty off the course.
LIV Golf bosses have informed various staff members that their employment will be soon be terminated.
The embattled league returns to Trump Bedminster outside New York this week for its penultimate regular season event, but LIV’s perilous position will once again overshadow events on the course.
It’s now a matter of weeks until LIV reaches its deadline to secure the funding it requires for survival after the Saudi Public Investment Fund announced in April that it would retreat from its backing at the end of the season. LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil has been pitching to investors with a plan for ‘LIV 2.0’, a streamlined model of fewer events and reduced prize purses in 2027. LIV sources have told TG that they are confident on closing in on a sizeable investment.
But before a meeting at Bedminster on Tuesday, players had yet to be officially informed whether any type of alternate funding has been secured. In the meantime, TG has seen a letter notifying LIV staff members and contractors that they would be losing their jobs in early September.
The employees receiving these termination notices have been told that there may well be opportunities to have involvement in LIV 2.0 with the hope that transition soon begins, but as of yet there is no clarity on what that looks like. LIV sources have stressed they are focused on “discipline” during these precarious times, emphasizing that any cost-cutting measures are being made solely to enhance the prospect of LIV finding a way to exist in 2027.
Yet still, the conclusion of the league’s current season remains mired in uncertainty.
The league is yet to confirm whether or not the season-ending Team Championships in Michigan will go ahead as planned. It is widely expected the $40 million tournament will be cancelled, with Martin Kaymer telling TG during last month’s UK event that it has a “five percent chance” of being played.
LIV does not plan to make any announcements until after this week’s event at Bedminster, meaning the ongoing uncertainty over the league’s is set to continue for a little while longer.