LIV Golf CEO says operations are continuing as planned amid questions over funding future
Dustin Johnson reads a green during a LIV Golf event in Illinois in 2023.
(CNN) — LIV Golf – the sport’s controversial breakaway league – is denying any changes to its operation after multiple reports suggested the future of the organization is in doubt.
“LIV Golf’s funding and operations are continuing as planned,” a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN Sports on Wednesday.
Multiple reports Wednesday indicated that the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is considering pulling funding from the team-based entity that lured away big names from the PGA Tour over the last several years.
Those reports, along with rampant social media speculation about the organization’s future, led CEO Scott O’Neil to send a letter to employees that sent a simple message: LIV is moving forward as planned.
“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 organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before,” O’Neill wrote in a letter shared with CNN Sports.
“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure. We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”
Launched in 2022 with an initial $400 million investment, LIV Golf looked to rival the PGA Tour by featuring $250 million in prize purses, initially threatening to shake the foundations of the sport.
The league is primarily funded by PIF, the sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed bin Salman – the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the man who a US intelligence report named as responsible for approving the operation that led to the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Bin Salman has denied involvement in Khashoggi’s murder.
The Saudi Arabian government has been dealing with the economic fallout from the war between the United States and Iran and the subsequent effects on the oil markets that are so lucrative to the Saudi government.
Saudi energy infrastructure has been the target of Iranian attacks and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has had a dramatic effect on the movement – and price – of oil drilled in the Middle East.
Reports in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and others indicated that the war is causing a change of heart inside the PIF and the fund is preparing to pull its funding from LIV.
O’Neil answered those reports by telling employees: “To the teams in New York, London, and those on the ground here with me in Mexico: lean into this moment. The noise you hear is simply the sound of a movement that is working. Embrace it. We are pioneers, and while the road isn’t always smooth, the destination is worth every mile.”
LIV lured high-profile golfers with exorbitant sums to jump from the PGA Tour to compete in initial 54-hole events around the world, where players could wear shorts, never miss a cut and tee off to bumpin’ music. Big names – including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith and Sergio Garcia, all major winners – took the money and bolted for the breakaway tour.
In December, Koepka quit LIV with a year remaining on his contract to return to the PGA Tour, a move that carried significant financial repercussions under the Tour’s “Returning Member Program.”
Earlier this year, Reed also announced he would move on from LIV to seek reinstatement within the PGA Tour for the 2027 season.
The LIV Golf circuit is currently hosting the series’ sixth tournament of the 2026 season outside of Mexico City. Amid reports of an emergency meeting in New York City – where LIV is headquartered – over the organization’s future, O’Neil’s letter indicates he has been in Mexico City preparing for the tournament.
According to LIV, the organization is increasing its revenue and is tracking $100 million ahead of 2025 so far this year. Sponsorships and merchandise revenue are both up year-over-year and ticket sales are up 129% year-over-year.
The next event on the schedule is set to tee off on May 7 at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC.
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