LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau’s contract expired Sunday once the “final putt of LIV Golf dropped” and a decision by DeChambeau to leave the tour in 2027 “could be the final nail in LIV’s coffin,” according to Paolo Uggetti of ESPN.com. DeChambeau “has been involved in LIV’s quest for resources and led a players meeting at their event in New York,” but he has also, in the past, “discussed the possibility of not playing any tour at all.” In some ways, “no one has benefited more from LIV than DeChambeau.” It is “no surprise then that DeChambeau has been at the forefront of trying to push LIV 2.0.” He will be “happy to keep doing so” if LIV can “meet his price” (ESPN.com, 8/23).

LOOKING FORWARD: DeChambeau, asked about LIV’s future on Sunday by LIV’s on-course reporter Jerry Foltz, said, “I think there’s a lot of potential moving forward. … As much as we’re transitioning from LIV 1.0 to 2.0, I have great thoughts about what could happen next year. I wish I could be more upfront about it, but ultimately, I’m proud of the fact of what we’ve done, the good and some of the bad that we’ve unfortunately had” (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 8/23).

REALLY THE END? GOLF DIGEST’s Joel Beall wrote Sunday “marked the end of LIV Golf as the sport had known it.” An entity “bearing the name may continue, with a schedule and teams and maybe a familiar face or two. But golf’s civil war is effectively over.” There is “no shortage of suspects in LIV Golf’s likely demise.” The league’s five-year run was “littered with strategic blunders, inflated claims and minor-league execution.” They were also “survivable for as long as Saudi Arabia remained willing to pay for them.” Yet “weak ratings did not kill LIV. Neither did an inferior product, public indifference or the human-rights controversy that followed the league everywhere it went.” An entity bearing LIV’s name “may survive, but it would operate with a fraction of the former backing and perhaps even less of the limited star power that gave the league relevance.” The departures of LIV golfers Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton would “further weaken an already shallow field, while a diminished schedule and roster could threaten LIV’s recently acquired world-ranking accreditation.” Beall: “LIV has spent years rejecting the exhibition label but the 2027 incarnation may finally earn it as a showcase built around DeChambeau, former rank-and-file members and a scattering of YouTube personalities” (GOLF DIGEST, 8/23).

WHAT NEXT? GOLF senior writer Josh Sens said he would “wager” that LIV “exists in some ghostly form, or … with moving parts but no real life at its center.” GOLF managing editor Josh Berhow added, “The next couple of months will be really important to see which (star) players are there. I know there are contracts involved here … but we’re entering a weird period where it’s hard to predict anything right now. It’s difficult to rule anything out. The biggest thing is the league needs investors, but the investors need stars in the league” (GOLF, 8/23).