LIV Golf Chief Executive Officer Scott O'Neil confirmed Wednesday that the tour has reached an agreement with a lead investor for a $250 million cash injection. The announcement follows a report from The New York Post at the end of July claiming the rebel circuit had secured a new financial lifeline.
O'Neil stated that the agreement has been signed by the investor and approved by the board. "LIV Golf has an agreement in place with a lead investor, signed by the investor and approved by the Board, to anchor the transaction and play a key role in supporting the path forward for the League’s next era, driven by and for the players," O'Neil said.
The circuit launched in 2022 with financial backing from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, paying nine-figure bonuses to lure top players like Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jon Rahm away from the PGA Tour with $20 million prize funds. But the tour faced trouble earlier this year when the Public Investment Fund announced it would no longer fund LIV Golf after the 2026 season, and one event in New Orleans was scrapped.
Player Ownership and Future League Plans
O'Neil said LIV Golf is seeing strong interest from more than a dozen additional parties to serve as minority investors in a multi-partner model. "Notably, our next chapter will make our players the majority equity holders in LIV Golf, a first for a major global sports league, and gives the League the foundation to keep growing the game worldwide," O'Neil said.
O'Neil expects to finalize terms with the lead investor in the next few weeks with the goal of getting it done in September. The plan for what is being referred to as LIV Golf 2.0 is for 10 team events each year, five of them in the United States and five others around the world. The circuit wants to stage events leading into the majors and have a schedule that allows its players to compete on other circuits. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton already play on the European tour, while the PGA Tour still has a one-year ban for anyone competing on LIV.
Upcoming Tournaments and Player Discussions
LIV Golf is set to play in Indianapolis from August 20-23. The season-ending team championship in Michigan has been in doubt for several weeks, mainly because the course has not even begun setting up for a tournament scheduled to start in three weeks.
O'Neil met with team captains on Tuesday, and Bryson DeChambeau led a player-only meeting later in the afternoon. Few players shared details, but Richard Bland, one of the only LIV players who commented Tuesday, addressed the team championship in Michigan. "I don’t know… we’ve just got to wait and see on that," Bland said.
During the players' meeting, Bland said DeChambeau "just ran through what he knows, and obviously, we’re trying to do it as a group, but we’re individuals as well, so I think the next two to three weeks is going to be where it’s at." Bland added: "We’re in this together. We’re fully backing Scott. I think probably in the next two to three weeks we’ll have a bigger picture. We’re just in that kind of stage at the minute that we’re positive with what’s going on, but we just need everything to be fully signed off so you can go forward."
