As LIV Golf progresses through a tumultuous 2026 season, the questions about its uncertain future after the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund announced it would withdraw its financial backing of the league continue to grow louder. Bryson DeChambeau has said he is playing a role in helping LIV CEO Scott O’Neil chart a path for the league, while Jon Rahm has opted to focus on his golf and let O’Neil and others determine LIV’s future.
O’Neil is reportedly seeking between $250 million and $350 million to stabilize LIV going forward, with the league potentially looking to downsize to 10 events with substantially smaller purses. Reports surfaced ahead of last week’s event in Korea that LIV Golf was laying the groundwork to file for bankruptcy in the United States if it couldn’t secure new investors. LIV already has postponed a tournament in New Orleans that was scheduled for June 25-28.
Most would describe LIV Golf’s future as murky at best, but Sergio Garcia feels differently about what lies ahead. Garcia, who joined LIV Golf when it burst onto the scene in 2022 and is one of the captains taking part in investor meetings, was asked Tuesday ahead of LIV Golf Andalucia about what the future holds for LIV. The 2017 Masters champion sees uncertainty but not where you might think.
“I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of uncertainty; I think that obviously there’s a little bit of uncertainty,” Garcia said at Valderrama. “But we’re really excited about the work that our CEO, Scott [O’Neil], and his team are putting in. We enjoy being involved in it, giving our input and seeing how we can help make sure that the league keeps going forward. We’re very confident that that’s going to happen. It’s just going to look different.
“In my opinion, more than being worried about if LIV is going to keep going or the league is going to keep going, it’s more how is it going to look going forward.”
Last week in Korea, DeChambeau, whose contract with LIV is up at the end of the year, also expressed optimism that the breakaway league will continue past 2026 with the focus on team golf being integral to the recent investment pitches and the plan for LIV Golf post-PIF.
“One door closes, another opens. I think that’s the way a lot of us are looking at it,” DeChambeau said last week. “I think we all have optimism that there is a business plan that makes sense for team golf. I’d quite honestly actually — how do I say it? I’m very optimistic with the business plan of team golf compared to other models, in my opinion.”
DeChambeau and Garcia are confident that LIV Golf will be able to survive this turbulent stretch and evolve into something sustainable in the long term. But last week in Korea, DeChambeau kept it honest as he talked about what the future might hold, with him, O’Neil and others pitching big-money investors on a league centered on team golf and equity in the team franchises.
