![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Several reports have also emerged saying Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be stepping down as LIV Golf chairman after forming the breakway circuit with Greg Norman almost five years ago. <\/p>\n
The Saudis have reportedly spent nearly $6 billion (A$8.4bn) on LIV Golf since, allowing it to pull in some of the sport\u2019s biggest names at astronomical nine-figure salaries amid accusations of the country \u201csportswashing\u201d its image.<\/p>\n
The league must find a way to replace the massive investment, a near-impossible task even with outside financing.<\/p>\n
The outfit struggled to gain a foothold with its team play and shortened tournament format, and lost a reported US$1.1 billion between 2022-24 as a merger with the rival PGA Tour never came to fruition.<\/p>\n
LIV shelled out exorbitant amounts to draw in stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, who now must determine their futures.<\/p>\n
LIV Golf is expected to finally confirm the PIF\u2019s withdrawal publicly on Thursday, though the acknowledgement will come as a new \u201cstrategic plan\u201d pitched to potential investors, along with the reveal of new board members. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp indicated to the Wall Street Journal that a pathway for players to return to the tour won\u2019t necessarily be easy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were rules, and they were broken,\u201d he said before the news about LIV\u2019s financing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith rules comes accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/p>\n
\u2018Feeling of panic\u2019: LIV stars approach rival over move amid survival fears<\/a><\/p>\n LIV Golf\u2019s fresh disaster: Key event shelved as US state spooked by funding collapse<\/a><\/p>\n Rolapp also indicated that members on the PGA Tour would expect defectors to pay a heavy price for their deeds, while also suggesting that not all LIV players would be viewed as equal in re-unification talks. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t necessarily have scar tissue, but there are plenty of people around our tour who do,\u201d Rolapp added. <\/p>\n \u201cIt has to be accounted for in some shape or form.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re interested in having the best players who can help our tour. Not every player can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n A fresh report from Golf Digest<\/a> has detailed how some players now face significant roadblocks to rejoining the PGA Tour, while some may have no pathway whatsoever, triggering a hunger games to sustain productive careers. <\/p>\n The publication reports through a PGA source that the Returning Member Program \u2014 which Brooks Koepka opted into at the start of the year at a hefty cost \u2014 is not expected to be re-offered to the other three players who were eligible, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation is different now,\u201d the source told the publication.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the path Patrick Reed is on \u2014 waiting one year from his last LIV Golf tournament to re-emerge on the PGA Tour \u2014 is no guarantee to be open to other players. <\/p>\n Furthermore, Golf Digest reports that the 11 players who joined an antitrust suit against the PGA Tour \u2014 this includes DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson \u2014 are expected to face a harsher route back to the Tour. <\/p>\n DeChambeau is said to have been disillusioned with LIV in 2026 amid $500m contract negotiations, and reportedly held talks about other options during the Masters.<\/p>\n Golf Digest reports that DeChambeau believes LIV has \u201cunderdelivered on its initial vision\u201d. <\/p>\n The player facing the strongest blacklisting, however, is believed to be Rahm, who almost single-handedly derailed the merger through his defection post the Framework Agreement. <\/p>\n It\u2019s widely acknolwedged that resentment towards Rahm is widespread amongst players still on the PGA Tour, and could see him forced to be come a DP World Tour player full-time. <\/p>\n Jon Rahm may have no way back.Source: AP<\/p>\n As rumours swirled regarding its financial backing, LIV Golf CEO Scott O\u2019Neil has spent the last few weeks attempting to put out fires. Earlier this month, he sent an email to staffers that pushed back on reports the league\u2019s folding was imminent.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,\u201d O\u2019Neil wrote in the email shared by multiple outlets. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organisation that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.<\/p>\n \u201cThe life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure. We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we\u2019ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.\u201d<\/p>\n LIV Golf now has seven tournaments remaining on its schedule after it postponed its June stop in Louisiana earlier this week.<\/p>\n Players have seemingly begun making inquiries on fallback plans, with Today\u2019s Golfer reporting Tuesday that \u201cseveral\u201d players have \u201csounded out the DP World Tour\u201d as an alternate plan.<\/a><\/p>\n