Last week was the most tumultuous in the short history of LIV Golf, and its future is more in doubt now than ever before.
After Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had announced a strategy shift in its funding, its startup golf league was left in limbo on whether its season would even continue. LIV will indeed trudge forward, receiving funding through the end of the 2026 season in a decision that came down to the wire, The Athletic reported Monday.
Jon Rahm, the league’s best player, won its event in Mexico City by six shots, but the discussion before, during and after the event wasn’t about his win or the league announcing a return to Chapultepec in 2027, moreover whether LIV Golf will even exist in the future.
And Monday, The Athletic reported another one of the league’s stars was also examining what was next for his professional career. Bryson DeChambeau, who withdrew Sunday citing a wrist injury, reportedly met with multiple organizations during the Masters to discuss possible options if he chose to leave LIV. DeChambeau’s contract expires after this year, and he has been mum on whether he’s going to re-sign or pursue another avenue.
The report states DeChambeau’s asking price to re-sign is up to $500 million, which would be nearly impossible for the league to provide without funding help from the PIF. LIV has lost more than $5 billion since its inception in 2022, and now its main financial backer is done after this year.
CEO Scott O’Neil, in his second year on the job, is persistent and confident he can find funding so the league can continue playing into 2027 and beyond, but it may have to do so without its biggest star in DeChambeau.
The Athletic reported DeChambeau and O’Neil were joking in the first fairway during Thursday’s opening round. But if his asking price is really half a billion dollars, can the league afford to re-sign a player that would keep its product the same while risking if he doesn’t re-sign, it’s a loss LIV likely couldn’t survive.
The Athletic also reported Rahm and DeChambeau had a lengthy discussion on the putting green ahead of Thursday’s first round, with nearly a dozen other golfers distracted by the conversation. What the two discussed during their private chat is unclear.
There are eight events left in LIV’s 2026 season, with its first in the U.S. set to take place May 7-10 in Virginia at Trump National. DeChambeau said he hopes to tee it up if his wrist injury heals in time, but his future with LIV Golf, and the leagues itself, are up in the air.
