WESTFIELD, Ill. – Overcast skies only seemed to amplify the never-ending soundtrack that echoed across the rolling grounds at Chatham Hills, and Bryson DeChambeau’s walk-up song, “Summer” by Calvin Harris, added a jaunty air to an otherwise surreal scene.
Jon Rahm, who was paired with DeChambeau for Round 1 of the LIV Golf season finale, went with the curious choice of “Beauty and a Beat” by Justin Bieber. Guess there’s a “Belieber” in all of us. But it was Thomas Detry’s choice of “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba that seemed perfectly apropos for the beleaguered league at what is by all accounts an inflection point.
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LIV Golf has unquestionably gotten “knocked down” since Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced in April its plan to cut funding for the league at the end of 2026. Whether LIV Golf can “get up again” depends on the business savvy of CEO Scott O’Neil and, more importantly, the lingering loyalty of its players.
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.
Although O’Neil has been reluctant to give details – or even identify the potential lead investor, who according to multiple reports is BC Partners co-founder Ted Goldthorpe – he did address the elephant in the room when he spoke with the media on Wednesday.
“The entirety of our focus is to get to this transaction and get through it. Without the players, that becomes very difficult,” O’Neil said.
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O’Neil likely doesn’t 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 “critical mass” that needs to commit in order to secure future funding and that he’s working under a “very compressed timeline.” 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.
In fact, few players have said anything about next steps after this week’s event, with most following Sergio Garcia’s lead. The Spaniard was asked on Tuesday following a player meeting his future with LIV: “We’ll see,” he said.
If that’s not exactly the full-throated support O’Neil would like, he understands how complicated this is for the players.
One player at Chatham Hills likened this week’s event to a funeral, but in truth it feels more like hospice. An objective review of the current landscape reveals a patient that isn’t well.
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Following weeks of speculation, the league announced Monday the cancellation of its team event, 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.
The league also canceled this week’s concert series, which has been central to LIV Golf’s DNA, because of “unavoidable changes in the entertainment program,” according to a statement. The purse was reduced for the finale, as well, to $10.1 million for the individual title, down from the $20 million individual purse offered two weeks ago at Bedminster.
The legal complications are also piling up with two vendors, Mobii Systems Group and Fresh Tape Media, claiming they haven’t been paid in separate lawsuits; which has only fueled speculation that the league is headed toward bankruptcy.
“I don’t think we would rule out any option,” O’Neil said Wednesday when asked about the possibility of bankruptcy. “I mean, the whole focus is on transaction, transaction, transaction. We’re 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.”
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Despite the litany of headwinds, O’Neil – and a number of players – 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.
Whatever 2.0 looks like, O’Neil has made it clear those free-spending days are over. His plan is to secure between $250 million to $350 million from the lead investor, according to various reports, along with additional capital from limited partners.
While $350 million sounds like a windfall, consider that the league is still well short of profitability despite over $6 billion in investment from the PIF, a point Rory McIlroy made with a not-so-subtle jab during his press conference on Wednesday at the BMW Championship.
“I’m pretty sure if the PGA Tour were handed $6 billion it would have done a better job with it,” McIlroy said.
If he can secure the funding, O’Neil’s plan for 2027 is for a 10-event schedule that includes five international team championships and five “signature” events played predominately in the U.S. around major championships. The new model is designed to better fit into golf’s existing ecosystem which is a consolatory nod toward O’Neil’s stated goal of “complete, not compete.”
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“It certainly was disruptive and at times divisive, and there’s no question that several years have been challenging for the game of golf,” O’Neil said of LIV Golf’s often contentious start under former CEO Greg Norman. “But I believe we’re at a really special inflection point, and I think the opportunities in front of golf is nothing short of extraordinary.”
O’Neil’s offer of an olive branch aside, the ecosystem that LIV Golf upended five years ago appears reluctant to embrace détente.
Earlier this month, the DP World Tour informed LIV players that it is highly unlikely the European circuit would grant conditional releases for 2027. Without the conditional releases, European tour members like Rahm would be subject to fines for playing LIV Golf events.
Last month, the Asian Tour, which had been the primary feeder circuit for LIV Golf, announced a multi-year partnership with the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, a move seen by some as an attempt to undercut the league.
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O’Neil might want to “move forward” but it doesn’t seem the rest of the ecosystem is there.
As Rahm and DeChambeau finished their opening rounds at Chatham Hills – cards of 67 and 65, respectively, which trail front-runner Laurie Canter (63) – the DJ’s thump followed them down the 18th fairway – “Golf, but louder” to the very end.
If this week’s LIV Golf event in the Indianapolis suburbs is the league’s swansong – and regardless of which side of professional golf’s political divide you fall, that if is carrying a ton of weight – wherever the destination, the circuit isn’t going quietly.
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