Patrick Reed, who decided not to renew with LIV a week before it began the 2026 season<\/a>, is leading the Race to Dubai on the DP World Tour and is a lock to be among the leading 10 players not already exempt to get PGA Tour cards for 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cI always saw myself wanting to start and finish my career on the PGA Tour,\u201d Reed said. He will be playing the Nexo Championship next week in Scotland for a $3 million purse. Even one of the lesser Challenger Series events in the new tour schedule <\/a>will feel like an upgrade.<\/p>\n Others currently among the leading 10 are Eugenio Chacarra, Bernd Wiesberger and Shaun Norris. All of them were part of LIV Golf when the rival league launched in 2022, and all have been away from LIV long enough to return without penalty (and without equity).<\/p>\n The PGA Tour has a full plate as it tries to shore up a revamped schedule for 2028 and to create a postseason format that finally puts some meaning into the word \u201cplayoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Rolapp, one year into his role as CEO of the PGA Tour, has never spent much time talking about LIV Golf because there\u2019s no need, especially now. Rolapp saying in a Bloomberg News interview<\/a> that there was \u201cno merger, no conversations with LIV Golf,\u201d somehow made news. The framework agreement got rid of the lawsuits. That was key.<\/p>\n But creating a path back will need to be added to the plate at some point.<\/p>\n The renegade league is in survival mode without Saudi funding, and while it is leaning into the concept of \u201cLIV 2.0\u201d<\/a> with the promise of a lead investor, the numbers don\u2019t make sense. The Public Investment Fund spent more than $5 billion in five years, much of that to attract stars who went over to LIV because of the money.<\/p>\n \u201cSo many of them came because this was a good opportunity for them to make some money, and this second bite at the apple is equity instead of cash,\u201d LIV CEO Scott O\u2019Neil said last week when sharing the news of an agreement with an investor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n A look at the timeline of events that led to LIV Golf\u2019s creation, to where things now stand with the circuit.<\/p>\n He was full of more optimism than details, chief among them the size of the investment.<\/p>\n And then the show went on. Joaquin Niemann won for the ninth time<\/a>. Jon Rahm clinched the individual title for the third straight time and picked up a $6 million bonus, down from $18 million the last two years he won it.<\/p>\n Scottie Scheffler won $10 million for winning the PGA Tour\u2019s regular season. The PGA Tour\u2019s new \u201cChampionship Series\u201d in 2028 offers $20 million purses. LIV Golf\u2019s restructuring will likely have prize funds half that size. The math is not that complicated.<\/p>\n LIV ends its season next week in Indianapolis. And then what? Players will have months to contemplate their futures in golf while dropping in on the odd DP World tour or Asian Tour event.<\/p>\n The day before O\u2019Neil gave his update on a lead investor, Cameron Smith said about a return to the PGA Tour, \u201cI mean, if it was the only option, I think that\u2019s where everyone would want to be for sure, 100%.\u201d Lucas Herbert said his management has been in touch with the tour.<\/p>\n The key figures are Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, who are more valuable to LIV Golf than they would be to the PGA Tour<\/a>. Of course, that\u2019s not the way DeChambeau sees it.<\/p>\n \u201cPersonally, I\u2019d love to be able to play events on the PGA Tour, too,\u201d DeChambeau said last week in an interview with the New York Post. \u201cI think that\u2019s best for golf. I\u2019d love that. It\u2019s not an either-or mentality. It\u2019s \u2018can we do both?\u2019 I think that\u2019s where everybody wants to be.<\/p>\n \u201cThere isn\u2019t a golf fan on the planet who doesn\u2019t want to see me play a big tour event, and I get that,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d love to go play events that make sense, love to play team golf and love to play wherever they\u2019ll let me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau ran LIV player meeting: Report<\/p>\n Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard reports how Bryson DeChambeau ran a LIV Golf’s players meeting this week at Trump National Bedminster, with one player leaving it feeling “cautious optimism” about the league’s future.<\/p>\n Is that what the PGA Tour and its members want?<\/p>\n![\"LIV](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786479012_957_.jpeg\")
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