{"id":447596,"date":"2026-02-01T17:44:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T17:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/447596\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T17:44:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T17:44:07","slug":"amid-losses-and-defections-david-samson-thinks-the-liv-tour-is-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/447596\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid losses and defections, David Samson thinks ‘the LIV tour is over’"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it initially burst on the scene with seemingly endless amounts of money, tapping into long-simmering frustrations from professional golfers fed up with PGA Tour rules, it seemed as though LIV Golf was destined to remake the sport in its own image.<\/p>\n

Several years later, the good times seem to have ended. The PGA Tour fixed its player equity issues<\/a>. The proposed LIV-PGA Tour merger appears DOA<\/a>. LIV ratings are in the toilet<\/a>. Some of the biggest names who defected from the PGA are returning<\/a>, hat in hand. And more defections are seemingly on the way.<\/p>\n

The upstart golf league has reportedly accrued $5 billion in losses<\/a>, according to LIV\u2019s regulatory filings. That sounds like a lot, but the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is\u00a0worth nearly $1 trillion, making it a drop in the bucket for them. Still, a losing bet is a losing bet, and Meadowlark Media\u2019s David Samson thinks the league\u2019s backers are likely realizing that the payoff just isn\u2019t going to exist much longer for this investment.<\/p>\n

LIV rich or die trying pic.twitter.com\/V6NHecmoTL<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nothing Personal with David Samson (@NPDSclips) January 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount of money that was lost, that many people, including me, said, \u2018What\u2019s the difference if they lose 1 billion, 5 billion, 10 billion?\u2019 I violated my own rule of American capitalism, which is, who\u2019s going to run a losing business interminably? Nobody,\u201d said Samson on a recent episode of Nothing Personal with David Samson. \u201cBut I thought that Saudi Arabia would, I thought this fund had endless amounts of money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you know what? It turns out not only do they want to launder their money, not only do they want to be like the PGA Tour and be like American companies and other companies throughout the free world, now they\u2019re acting like one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re now thinking to themselves, \u2018What are we doing? We\u2019re throwing good money after bad. We\u2019ve got eight and a half dollars of expenses for every dollar of revenue. What crappy plan is that?\u2019 And now, players are defecting. First, it was Koepka. Now, it\u2019s Patrick Reed.<\/p>\n

\u201cLIV is going to become a third-rate tour at best. The defections have started, and they\u2019re not going to stop. The LIV tour is over.\u201d<\/p>\n

LIV is looking at contract-extension decisions with stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm in the coming years. Presumably, they won\u2019t stick around for deals that don\u2019t at least match what they\u2019re doing now. And once the league has exhausted its roster of top-tier talent, what\u2019s the point then?<\/p>\n

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