Two of LIV Golf’s biggest remaining stars could hold the key to the future of the league’s most popular tournament…
LIV Golf’s most successful event appears on the brink of collapse after being told it will only go ahead if several star players commit to the relaunched version of the league.
Peter Malinauskas, the South Australian Premier, has effectively laid an ultimatum to LIV bosses ahead of the league’s possible return to Adelaide in 2027.
Despite LIV’s current plight, the league’s visits Down Under have been undisputed success stories, with 115,000 fans in attendance across this year’s event as Anthony Kim completed one of the game’s great comeback stories by staring down Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm to claim victory.
The tournament is supposed to move to Kooyonga Golf Club next year, but the uncertainty around LIV’s restructuring process in bankruptcy court has thrown the event in doubt.
Rahm is one of a number of high-profile names to depart LIV, and Malinauskas has highlighted two players who are now crucial if the league is to return to Australia.
“It’s tricky,” Malinauskas told radio station SEN. “LIV Golf are officially telling us that they are all systems go to be back here. But we are monitoring it pretty closely. What’s happening with the players is going to be the most instructive outcome here.
“It’s very important to us they keep the likes of Cam Smith and Bryson DeChambeau in that playing roster; that underpins the success of the event. That’s something we are monitoring closely just to see how it unfolds.
“We’re not going to go through with LIV unless they put on the standard of event they have put on in the past, which has been truly exceptional. We’re going to know for sure in the next two to three weeks.”
DeChambeau and Smith are yet to announce where they will play next season, but the league’s investors BC Partners will soon require a number of commitments from players to complete their transaction and salavage the league’s future.
LIV hope to stage at least 10 events next season as part of its reimagined league, but it remains unclear where these tournaments will be played.
Valderrama’s general manager Javier Reveriego told TG last month that he does not yet have clarity on whether LIV will return to the famous Spanish course next year.
“We will review once we have the info from them,” said Reveriego. “If we don’t do events for a few years, it’s really not an issue. The club is fine. We’ve always been linked to tournaments, but life will go on.”