\u2018Flawed\u2019 Masters pathway exposed as brutal flop pours fuel over Aussie \u2018disgrace\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Despite](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/a724ae01ae3989bc4bf6d179de353304.jpeg\")
Despite commiting to 2031, there are doubts over LIV Golf will ever stage an event in Australia again.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Coming together might be a stretch when you consider the lack of player commitments so far. <\/p>\n
There are reports of just 15 players making tentative commitments to LIV 2.0, which would see BC Partners take the place of Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund as the chief money source.<\/p>\n
Of those 15, the only public shows of intent are from Richard Bland, Cameron Tringale, Brendan Steele and Kiwi Ben Campbell, while it has been reported France\u2019s Victor Perez intends to stay.<\/p>\n
They are fine golfers, but not the A-listers Malinauskas intends to pay for \u2014 and South Australia\u2019s commitment could prove crucial to the success of a LIV Golf rebirth given its strength and optics.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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,\u201d Malinauskas said.<\/p>\n
As the deadline loomed large, foxsports.com.au contacted several key figures in Australian golf with knowledge of the situation regarding LIV and players from these shores.<\/p>\n
The fact that these figures, so typically in the know, were unable to shed any further light speaks to the remarkable cone of silence that now surrounds the embattled league. <\/p>\n
Smith and DeChambeau remain the biggest mysteries having still given no indication of their plans for 2027.<\/p>\n
One of the prized signings for LIV in the wake of his Open Championship victory at St Andrews in 2022, Smith\u2019s situation is complex given he is captain of the all-Aussie Ripper GC, which he is believed to have some level of ownership of.<\/p>\n
But there are certainly cracks. Having long been one of LIV Golf\u2019s staunchest supporters, he spoke last month with a new level of uncertainty. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to make a decision when you don\u2019t have at least some of the answers to make the right decision, or (any) decision. We need a few more answers,\u201d Smith told Evin Priest of the Sydney Morning Herald last month.<\/p>\n
The only member of Ripper GC to confirm his future is Lucas Herbert, who is leaving to play full time on the DP World Tour. <\/p>\n
Cameron Smith remains tight-lipped about his future.Source: AFP<\/p>\n
His departure has added to the level of angst that is facing the would-be new host of Adelaide\u2019s LIV Golf event, Kooyonga Golf Club, which expected to welcome more than 100,000 fans early next year. <\/p>\n
Instead, it has alerted its members to filings made to the New Jersey bankruptcy court overseeing LIV\u2019s Chapter 11 proceedings earlier this month.<\/p>\n
The club is seeking confirmation by November 6 whether LIV Golf will proceed with its agreement to host the Kooyonga event, and <\/p>\n
It has also demanded to have \u201cprojected costs the club will incur to meet its obligations under the agreement while LIV Golf makes its decision covered, including out-of-pocket expenses and bookings the club can\u2019t accept while the course is held for the event.\u201d<\/p>\n
As that deadline looms, Kooyonga only knows who definitely won\u2019t be visiting Australia early next year.<\/p>\n
Jon Rahm is out. <\/p>\n
So, too, his fellow major winners Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen and Graeme McDowell, while Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka are already gone.<\/p>\n
Garcia confirmed the worst kept secret on Thursday, saying he will be playing on the DP World Tour and is open to a PGA Tour return.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis tour has been a huge part of my career from the very beginning, and I\u2019m proud to call it home again. I\u2019m also keeping my options open for a return to the PGA Tour,\u201d he said, years after slating the PGA Tour on exit. <\/p>\n
Fellow pro Eddie Pepperell certainly hasn\u2019t forgotten.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has to be Sergio trolling us? Surely. Elite level shithousery, this. Or has he got dementia?\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n
Sergio Garcia has confirmed his exit.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be clear, I think Sergio Garcia is still a wonderful player. He was my favourite golfer growing up, ahead of Tiger. And I can see the value he still brings, ahead of me certainly. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut his statement today shows a remarkable lack of self awareness. Like, a stunning amount.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Tyrrell Hatton and Braden Grace confirmed their departures alongside winners of non-LIV tournaments in Australia Ian Poulter, Abraham Ancer and David Puig, the champion at last year\u2019s Australian PGA.<\/p>\n
Where exactly those players will ply their trade going forward creates further questions. They have varied levels of status on the DP World Tour, while others are likely to rely on tournament invitations.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s certain is that the PGA Tour is not an immediate option, given they face a 12 month ban from their last LIV start.<\/p>\n
It leaves the DP World Tour as the most popular avenue for 2027. There have been rumours of 8-10 starts being made available for players who join the LIV exodus, yet nothing has been confirmed. <\/p>\n
Players hoping that deal comes to fruition could include multiple major winner Dustin Johnson, who The Athletic reports is part of a group of 10 LIV golfers \u2014 which also includes Bubba Watson and Thomas Detry \u2014 seeking more than US$100 million in severance pay from the PIF.<\/p>\n
Johnson and Watson were part of the list of LIV Golf creditors released, as part of Chapter 11 Proceedings, which also highlighted Queenslander Smith as being owed US$4.8 million.<\/p>\n
Non-players, including vendors, are also reportedly seeking outstanding payments. It\u2019s a long list, and one that might\u2019ve been slightly miffed when it was revealed Scott O\u2019Neil, the CEO of LIV Golf, and other executives received substantial payments in the final days of LIV 1.0. <\/p>\n
Court records show O\u2019Neil received more than US$6 million in retention payments, which totalled US$15.6 million across the executive staff.<\/p>\n
That figure will no doubt raise eyebrows among Smith, and his fellow Aussies Marc Leishman and rising star Elvis Smylie, who lost his DP World Tour playing rights at the end of last week when the regular season ended.<\/p>\n
Qualifying School is an option for some players, while Herbert announced via Instagram that he is seeking a different kind of new start.<\/p>\n
The Victorian, who won two LIV events this year and fired a magical 62 at this year\u2019s Open Championship, is turning his attention to the Australian summer, where he will contest the NSW Open, Australian PGA, Australian Open and Cathedral Invitational.<\/p>\n
Eddie Pepperell has highlighted an \u2018absolute betrayal\u2019 that\u2019s looming.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things I\u2019m passionate about is trying to help back home, back in Australia, whether it be junior sport, particularly junior golf, or you know mates in general, Australian foundations, Australian companies, that sort of thing,\u201d Herbert said in an Instagram reel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want you guys to reach out if you are small business owner, if you know a small business owner, if someone in the family, some friends, whoever, I want to wear some apparel. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have no tie to a hat sponsor coming back home this year, and I would love to wear some local business merchandise to support you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not looking for any payment or services, Herbert\u2019s efforts will no doubt endear him to the Aussie public. <\/p>\n
Winning over the rank and file players on the DP World Tour, where he is a three-time winner, might be harder, as explained by the outspoken Pepperell.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have two ways of thinking about what it would mean to potentially lose out on playing opportunities in 2027 to guys who as Joost Luiten adequately put it, \u2019didn\u2019t give a shit about the Tour\u2019 back in 2022\/23 when they joined LIV Golf,\u201d he wrote in his Chipping Forecast Substack.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirstly, and coming from an emotional standpoint which by now, though still festering, has calmed down, would feel like an absolute betrayal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not mentioning Herbert by name Pepperell, a vocal critic of LIV Golf from the outset, covers numerous topics in his writings \u2014 but returning LIV players on the DP World Tour promises to be a big issue.<\/p>\n
So, too, who else is in and who else is out on deadline day \u2014 if that day ever materialises in actuality to allow some certainty. <\/p>\n
Everyone is well and truly waiting already.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A deadline, by definition, is hard and fast \u2026 unless you\u2019re trying to stop a multi-billion dollar disruptor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":899534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-899533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}