LIV Golf returns this week with a huge cloud hanging over it

LIV Golf heads to Virginia this week with a huge cloud hanging over it.

There had been widespread speculation about its long-term future and a tournament scheduled for New Orleans in June has been cancelled. It has now been confirmed that the Saudi Public Investment Fund will no longer be backing the breakaway tour after the end of 2026.

We are told that new sponsors are being sought but nobody can really believe that the tour now has any kind of long-term future, certainly not in its current format.

It is claimed that Bryson DeChambeau, their prized asset, is demanding a $500m contract when his current deal expires. You have to ask what planet he is on. There is, of course, another possibility - that he is looking to price himself out of the market to engineer a return to the PGA Tour.

There are lots of players who have done very nicely out of LIV, thank you very much. One of those is Jon Rahm, who will start as favourite in Virginia. Since joining LIV, his worst finish is T11th. After a poor Masters he immediately bounced back with another LIV victory. To date, he has pocketed, wait for it, $81.8m. It defies belief.

(Image Credit: Chris Trotman/LIV Golf)

They all signed contracts but presumably those deals were penned on the basis that the winner of each event will pick up $4m. That will continue for the rest of the year but there is not a snowball’s chance in hell of any potential new sponsor matching these sums. 

One of the reasons that PIF is pulling the plug is because LIV has failed to attract lucrative TV deals and, with it, huge television audiences. 

They will point to the fact that their tournaments in Australia and South Africa attract massive galleries and while that may be true, hardly anybody else was watching.

You can be certain of one thing - there is going to be a huge media frenzy surrounding this week’s tournament in Virginia. Nobody will much care about who wins the thing but journalists will want some kind of reaction from players such as DeChambeau, Rahm, Talor Gooch and Joaquin Niemann. 

It seems highly likely that we will soon see a lot of Europeans such as Adrian Meronk, David Puig and Tom McKIbbin fully committing themselves to the DP World Tour from 2027. 

McKibbin must surely be kicking himself. He had the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour last year but stunned onlookers by signing for LIV despite being advised not to by fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy.

And then there is Laurie Canter. You may recall that he rejoined the DP World Tour in 2024 after being dropped by LIV. At the time, he had some pretty unkind things to say about the experience. He rebuilt both his game and his confidence and returned to the winners’ circle on the DP World Tour and then, having also secured a PGA Tour card, announced that he was once again joining LIV.

It will be fascinating to hear what all these players have to say about their short-term futures this week. I would expect most to say that they intend to remain loyal to LIV but, as we have all seen, loyalty these days tends to come at a cost.

Puig, a hugely promising Spanish golfer who has dual membership of the DP World Tour and LIV, says that he believes LIV will survive beyond this year.

He told Today’s Golfer: “The PIF withdrawal is something that we know already. It is what it is. I love Scott (O'Neil, LIV CEO). He’s a great guy. He’s pretty straightforward, and he mentioned that. All together, we’re going to try and find a solution, and hopefully that pays off and we find something. 

"Obviously I don’t really know what he deals with every day. I’m sure he’s got a lot of pressure [on] his shoulders and a lot of stuff going on but with me he’s been amazing. We play Padel together. He’s a great guy, and I really enjoy his time around him. That’s all I can say. 

"We had a meeting in Mexico, but I know the same as you do right now. There’s nothing more we know. I’m just happy where I am and hopefully we can find a solution.”

"I’ve been loving my time on LIV," Puig said. "Sergio [Garcia] has been great and I’m good friends with Jon [Rahm], so I enjoy the tournaments. So hopefully we find a solution. It’s definitely made me a better player. It’s not up to me at all what happens, but I enjoy it and they’re doing the right things, and hopefully there’s a solution."