Saudi Arabia is shifting its investment strategy from some sporting projects, with the PIF entering a ‘Value Realisation Period’ and emphasising more sustainable investments. PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said that the Iran war has “added more pressure to reposition some priorities”.
LIV CEO Scott O’Neil was bullish about the short-term future during the latest stop in Mexico, insisting to staff that the season would continue “at full throttle”. Sources at the league have stressed it is very much “business as usual”, with extensive plans still being made for its 13 teams and the 2027 calendar.
Yet without access to alternate funding, LIV’s future still appears perilous. “The reality is that you’re funded through the season, and then you work like crazy as a business to create a business and a business plan to keep us going,” O’Neil told TNT Sports in Mexico in an interview that was soon deleted.
The anticipated postponement of an upcoming event in New Orleans, which would leave a seven-week gap in the calendar this summer, has only added to the concern during a fraught period. Such uncertainty has not been lost on some of the league’s players, some of whom could face career limbo if LIV did suddenly cease operations.
New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said last week that he would consider additional pathways to bring back players who want to return from LIV after Brooks Koepka’s reinstatement through a contrived ‘Returning Members Program’. The belief is that the DP World Tour would adopt similar considerations.
The circuit would likely be a very popular landing ground. TG has learned from sources close to the situation that various LIV players have asked the circuit about their options for next season and the tournaments they would be eligible for as they consider potential fallbacks.
It’s understood that one LIV player has also asked about the viability of competing on the HotelPlanner – formerly Challenge – Tour, the second tier of European golf, should their calendar open up in 2027.
At this week’s Turkish Airlines Open, DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings was asked for his thoughts about LIV’s potential plight – and what the implications could be for his own circuit.
“We’re reading the headlines and observing,” Kinnings told TG. “We’ve got members and dual members [of the DPWT and LIV) and we listen to them. Those kind of headlines that we’ve seen in the last few weeks have got to be concerning for them. But all we do is control what we can control, make sure our product is as good as it can be. I don’t think it can be easy with all of that sort of going on.
“But at the moment, our focus is just on us doing what we can do. We listen to players, listen to their representatives all the time and go from there.”
In February, eight LIV players who are DP World Tour members agreed to a conditional deal with Wentworth HQ that enabled them to play in conflicting events without tournament releases. In return, the octet were required to settle any outstanding sanctions and to participate in additional DP World Tour events, as well as withdrawing appeals against the circuit. LIV youngsters Tom McKibbin, David Puig and Elvis Smylie all signed that deal and are among the favorites playing this week here in Antalya.
TG also asked Kinnings about the possibility of the DP World Tour welcoming more players from LIV.
“At the moment, we’re in the mode of just listening because we don’t know any more than anyone else does,” he said. “But we’ll listen and we’ll make sure that we’re fully informed before we make the decisions that we need to do. But for sure, there are people who are concerned and we will be having conversations with them at the right time.
“We’ll make sure we’re informed. But we’ve already shown that if people work within the rules – my only job is to make sure we benefit the tour as a whole, every member, all the loyal members have stuck with it. We worked out what is something that worked well on those conditional releases.
“Players coming and supporting at events where it improves the quality of the event and helps the tour as a whole. So we will wait and see how things evolve, but we’re obviously listening and we’re listening to players and agents and others who have questions about what the future may hold and we’ll handle it as we go forward. But for sure, I think there’s opportunity for us to continue to grow the strength of the tour, which is my only job really.”
This week’s field at the National Golf Club is headed by 2018 Open champion Francesco Molinari. Alex Fitzpatrick was also due to compete, but has withdrawn after sealing his PGA Tour card and entry into this week’s $20 million Cadillac Championship with his life-changing victory alongside brother Matt at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
