LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil’s email to personnel regarding the future of the rebel tour has been leaked after claims emerged that the controversial Saudi-backed project is collapsing
LIV Golf has maintained they will “continue as planned” and “at full throttle” following speculation the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund were contemplating pulling their financial support from the rebel golf series.
LIV CEO Scott O’Neil responded to the claims in a memo to personnel, which has since been leaked. After the Masters, rumours emerged on social media suggesting the circuit’s Saudi backers were considering terminating their investment. Since launching in 2022, multiple reports have indicated the tour has lost more than $1billion, due to the massive salaries paid to stars like Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and countless others.
It has also seen prominent figures such as Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed exit the tour, with the former departing despite having 12 months left on his deal. Additionally, there is the impact on Saudi Arabia arising from the Middle East conflict between the USA and Israel and Iran to consider.
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The turmoil has seen several vital pieces of infrastructure in Saudi targeted by missiles and drones, and LIV chairman and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan recently declared: “The war would add more pressure to reposition priorities.”
A leaked email from CEO O’Neil stated: “I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle. While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organisation that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.”
Additional reports also suggested LIV bosses were summoned to an “emergency summit” in New York, while further stories claimed numerous figures within the tour were hunting for fresh roles. O’Neil has also recently admitted it could take up to a decade before the tour turns a profit, with the PIF having already pumped £3.7bn into the project since 2022.
The PIF has recently outlined its new blueprint for the next five years which focuses on initiatives designed to deliver financial returns to Saudi Arabia’s economy and national priorities.
After this revelation, a message from an X account named ‘Monday Q Info’ which has built a solid reputation as a reliable source on golf matters, hinted that a “bombshell” announcement concerning the tour was inevitable – LIV offered no rebuttal after this post attracted widespread notice.
At the Masters, John Rahm also confessed he was aware of what had gone wrong but was “probably not going to say it right now”, while DeChambeau was reduced to tears after failing to make the cut at Augusta, yet refused to explain why he was so upset. Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, also made history as the first ever participant in the major to receive an official code of conduct warning after he thrashed the teebox with his driver, before breaking it in two by hitting a drinks box.
In a recently rescheduled press conference, Garcia addressed rumours surrounding the tour, stating: “We have not heard anything apart from what Yasir told us at the beginning of the year, that he is behind us, that they have a project for many years. As you know there’s always a lot of rumours. I can’t tell you more than anything we already know.”
While LIV continues to function, it has already undergone significant changes. It has ditched its contentious 54-hole format – which was a key draw and the rationale behind the LIV name, given LIV is Roman numerals for 54 – and reverted to a traditional 72-hole structure.
They are also concentrating on nurturing up-and-coming talent with potential, rather than throwing around nine-figure sums to entice the world’s top players, as they did in 2022 when it rocked the golfing world. In February, it managed to secure world ranking points for a handful of its competitors, but the exits of Reed and Koepka have reduced its appeal.
The fact that Koepka was allowed to return to the PGA Tour, albeit after donating £5m to charity as part of its ‘Returning Members’ programme, has also shown any potentially discontented stars there is a route back to the PGA Tour.