WESTFIELD, Ill. \u2013 Overcast skies only seemed to amplify the never-ending soundtrack that echoed across the rolling grounds at Chatham Hills, and Bryson DeChambeau\u2019s walk-up song, \u201cSummer\u201d by Calvin Harris, added a jaunty air to an otherwise surreal scene.<\/p>\n
Jon Rahm, who was paired with DeChambeau for Round 1 of the LIV Golf season finale, went with the curious choice of \u201cBeauty and a Beat\u201d by Justin Bieber. Guess there\u2019s a \u201cBelieber\u201d in all of us. But it was Thomas Detry\u2019s choice of \u201cTubthumping\u201d by Chumbawamba that seemed perfectly apropos for the beleaguered league at what is by all accounts an inflection point.<\/p>\n
LIV Golf has unquestionably gotten \u201cknocked down\u201d since Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund announced in April its plan to cut funding for the league at the end of 2026. Whether LIV Golf can \u201cget up again\u201d depends on the business savvy of CEO Scott O\u2019Neil and, more importantly, the lingering loyalty of its players<\/a>.<\/p>\n The chief executive announced two weeks ago at the LIV event in New Jersey that the league had reached a term sheet with a lead investor that could, if a definitive deal can be reached, keep the circuit operating into 2027 and beyond.<\/p>\n Although O\u2019Neil has been reluctant to give details \u2013 or even identify the potential lead investor, who according to multiple reports is BC Partners co-founder Ted Goldthorpe \u2013 he did address the elephant in the room when he spoke with the media on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe entirety of our focus is to get to this transaction and get through it. Without the players, that becomes very difficult,\u201d O\u2019Neil said.<\/p>\n O\u2019Neil likely doesn\u2019t need every star player to buy into LIV Golf 2.0, which will leverage league equity instead of enormous signing bonuses to maintain or attract talent. But he said there is a \u201ccritical mass\u201d that needs to commit in order to secure future funding and that he\u2019s working under a \u201cvery compressed timeline.\u201d Simply put, Rahm could move on as long as DeChambeau and select others remain committed to LIV Golf. That seems to be the most likely scenario, although neither Rahm nor DeChambeau have made any commitments regarding their competitive futures.<\/p>\n In fact, few players have said anything about next steps after this week\u2019s event, with most following Sergio Garcia\u2019s lead. The Spaniard was asked on Tuesday following a player meeting his future with LIV: \u201cWe\u2019ll see,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s not exactly the full-throated support O\u2019Neil would like, he understands how complicated this is for the players.<\/p>\n One player at Chatham Hills likened this week\u2019s event to a funeral, but in truth it feels more like hospice. An objective review of the current landscape reveals a patient that isn\u2019t well.<\/p>\n Following weeks of speculation, the league announced Monday the cancellation of its team event<\/a>, which was scheduled for next week in Michigan. It was the second event canceled this season following news in April that the planned stop in New Orleans had been scrapped.<\/p>\n The league also canceled this week\u2019s concert series, which has been central to LIV Golf\u2019s DNA, because of \u201cunavoidable changes in the entertainment program,\u201d according to a statement. The purse was reduced for the finale<\/a>, as well, to $10.1 million for the individual title, down from the $20 million individual purse offered two weeks ago at Bedminster.<\/p>\n The legal complications are also piling up with two vendors, Mobii Systems Group and Fresh Tape Media, claiming they haven\u2019t been paid in separate lawsuits; which has only fueled speculation that the league is headed toward bankruptcy.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we would rule out any option,\u201d O\u2019Neil said Wednesday when asked about the possibility of bankruptcy. \u201cI mean, the whole focus is on transaction, transaction, transaction. We\u2019re spending all our time thinking about how we best land this plane and have it landed so we can take off again. All our focus is in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the litany of headwinds, O\u2019Neil \u2013 and a number of players \u2013 remain optimistic LIV Golf – Indianapolis will not be the epitaph for a league that promised to revolutionize professional golf with free-agency and free-spending.<\/p>\n