Scottie Scheffler is hopeful the PGA Tour can eventually welcome back LIV Golf’s best players, but Rory McIlroy didn’t sound as eager as the two tours get set to hold competing events for perhaps the final time.
The world’s two best golfers were asked about LIV Golf’s uncertain future hours before LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil preached “high confidence” in the league’s future. O’Neil called for more cooperation among the sport’s leaders in the league’s latest attempt to deflect speculation that this week’s LIV event in Indianapolis could be its last one before folding.
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“I wouldn’t bet against us,” O’Neil told reporters during a pre-tournament news conference on Wednesday, August 19.
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
LIV Golf remains in the headlines as executives meet amid ongoing conversations about the future of the sport.
See the LIV golfers who continue to draw attention through both current competition and their place in the broader discussion.
Above, Byeong Hun An in action during the first round of play at LIV Golf Riyadh at the Riyadh Golf Club.
(Hamad I Mohammed, Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
LIV Golf remains in the headlines as executives meet amid ongoing conversations about the future of the sport.
See the LIV golfers who continue to draw attention through both current competition and their place in the broader discussion.
Above, Byeong Hun An in action during the first round of play at LIV Golf Riyadh at the Riyadh Golf Club.
(Hamad I Mohammed, Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Paul Casey of Crushers GC chips onto the first green during the finals of the LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort.
(Aaron Doster, Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after winning in a playoff against Byeong-Hun An of South Korea during the final round of The Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 3, 2018, in Dublin, Ohio.
(Sam Greenwood, Getty Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Sergio Garcia plays his shot on the seventeenth hole from the eighth hole during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
(Bill Streicher, Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Tyrrell Hatton tees off on the first hole during the third round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
(Michael Madrid, Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Charles Howell III, Bryson DeChambeau and Paul Casey of the Crushers GC celebrate the Dallas LIV team championship during the final round of the LIV Golf Dallas golf tournament at Maridoe Golf Club.
(Raymond Carlin III, Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Dustin Johnson lines up a putt on the 17th green during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
(Michael Madrid, Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Martin Kaymer of team Cleeks Golf Club hits a tee shot on the fourth hole during the final round of the LIV Golf Virginia golf tournament at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
(Geoff Burke, Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Anthony Kim hits from the second tee during the final round of the LIV Golf Black Diamond Ranch golf tournament at Black Diamond Ranch.
(Jeff Swinger, Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Phil Mickelson of HyFlyers GC reacts to a putt at the 12th green on day one of LIV Golf Virginia at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on June 06, 2025, in Gainesville, Virginia.
(Alex Goodlett, Getty Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Joaquin Niemann of Torque GC celebrates after winning day three of LIV Golf Virginia at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on June 08, 2025, in Gainesville, Virginia.
(Alex Goodlett, Getty Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Louis Oosthuizen of Stinger GC tees off at the ninth hole on day two of LIV Golf Virginia at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on June 07, 2025, in Gainesville, Virginia.
(Alex Goodlett, Getty Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
British golfer Ian Poulter of Majesticks GC plays his shot from the second tee during the quarterfinals of the 2022 LIV Golf Invitational Miami at Trump National Doral Miami golf club in Miami, Florida, on October 28, 2022.
(Giorgio Viera, Getty Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Jon Rahm of Legion XIII poses with the LIV golf season individual trophy on day three of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills on August 17, 2025, in Westfield, Indiana.
(Justin Casterline, Getty Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
South African golfer Charl Schwartzel celebrates with the trophy after winning the LIV Golf Invitational London at The Centurion Club on June 11, 2022. The $25 million event marked the launch of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series, the richest tournament purse in golf history at the time.
(Adrian Dennis, Getty Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Australia’s Cameron Smith of Ripper GC plays a shot at the 5th tee during the first round of the LIV Golf Korea at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon on May 2, 2025.
(Jung Yeon-Je, AFP via Getty Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
USA’s Bubba Watson watches his shot during the second day of the LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club in Adelaide on February 15, 2025.
(Brenton Edwards, AFP via Getty Images)
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LIV Golf running out of time? Meet the players who define the league
Lee Westwood of Majesticks GC reacts to a putt on the 18th hole during day three of the LIV Golf Invitational – Orlando at The Orange County National on April 02, 2023, in Orlando, Florida.
(Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images)
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Scheffler, McIlroy differ on LIV Golf ‘value’ to PGA Tour
Whether LIV Golf survives in a new form or not, Scheffler said he wants LIV Golf’s best to be allowed to defect back to the PGA Tour, provided there are “some sort of penalties” as designated by PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp.
“The depth that we have on our Tour is a bit unmatched, but I think when you look at the higher levels of LIV Golf, there’s definitely some players that would provide a lot of value to the Tour,” Scheffler told reporters at the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club outside St. Louis for the second event of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs. “… I look forward to the chance to compete with them more often.”
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McIlroy, an outspoken LIV Golf critic, offered a harsher take than Scheffler when asked a similar question.
“I mean, I’d argue have they brought value to LIV?” McIlroy said. “… I think the PGA Tour is in a really good spot.”
Rolapp has previously indicated he was open to allowing more golfers who defected to LIV Golf to return to the PGA Tour if it made the PGA Tour stronger. But he emphasized it was not one of the PGA Tour’s priorities as it eyes a revamped schedule beginning next year.
What’s the latest on LIV Golf’s new investor?
O’Neil, who took over as LIV Golf CEO in January 2025, described the past few months as “severely challenging” and emphasized the sport “doesn’t need another five years of fighting.” He proposed LIV Golf members be permitted to play on other tours and noted current LIV golfers have a deadline to commit to remaining with LIV Golf moving forward. He did not, however, specify a date for that deadline.
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The league has plans for a reduced schedule and a new operating format in 2027, with golfers as the majority equity holders in the tour.
O’Neil’s latest comments come in the midst of LIV Golf’s pursuit of long-term funding from a new investor that it has not yet publicly named. O’Neil once again declined to name the investor on Wednesday, though he previously said there was an “agreement” in place. Multiple reports have identified private equity firm BC Partners as LIV Golf’s potential new partner.
BC Partners CEO Ted Goldthorpe was in attendance at LIV Golf New York earlier this month along with U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Goldthorpe also spoke with LIV golfers on Tuesday ahead of the season-ending event in Indianapolis, according to The Athletic.
LIV Golf confirmed on Monday that the LIV Golf Indianapolis event slated to begin on Thursday, Aug. 20 will mark the end of its 2026 season after weeks of speculation that its team championship event slated for next week in Michigan would be called off amidst funding issues.
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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has reportedly spent more than $5 billion founding and operating LIV Golf, announced in April that it would not continue funding the tour following the 2026 season as part of a strategic shift, leaving LIV officials to find an alternative source of funding.
LIV Golf is now facing lawsuits from multiple vendors over unpaid invoices related to its events. The $40 million purse for this week’s event in Indianapolis is about $30 million less than what was originally announced for the Indianapolis and Michigan events.
The 2027 LIV schedule will feature just 10 events, instead of 14, with five taking place in the U.S. and five at international sites, according to O’Neil. But rumors of LIV Golf’s impending demise have continued in recent weeks, with prominent LIV Golf member Ian Poulter noting in a recent interview that “time might run out.”
“There is a hard deadline I think of September 1st … to find $300 million,” Poulter said on GOLF LIFE on YouTube. “That is not a lot of time considering people and contracts have got to be signed.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy weigh in on LIV Golf’s uncertain future
