LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil sent an email to staff late Wednesday making assurances that the breakaway tour’s season will continue “as planned” after multiple reports that it is on the verge of shutting down.
According to reports, LIV Golf executives held an emergency meeting in New York on Wednesday with an announcement regarding the future of the organization said to be “imminent.”
The Telegraph reports that executives had been summoned to Manhattan for “an emergency summit” and that the reason for the meeting wasn’t provided.
The Financial Times also reported on Wednesday that the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was close to cutting support to the tour and said an announcement on the country’s involvement in LIV Golf could come on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
What the LIV CEO told staff
However, O’Neil stated in his email — which was obtained by several news outlets and posted online — that the tour will move along “as planned” amidst the reported adversity.
“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil wrote in the email. “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.
“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure,” O’Neil wrote. “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.”
However, many were quick to note that O’Neil’s email did nothing to quash reports that PIF reportedly will be pulling funding from the tour after having invested a reported US$6 billion over the past five years.
O’Neil also notably signed off on the email using past-tense, writing: “It matters. You mattered. Now, let’s go win.”
LIV Golf is in the midst of holding a $30-million tournament in Mexico City at Club de Golf Chapultepec, its sixth event of the season.
However, no pre-tournament news conferences were held on Tuesday, with organizers reportedly suffering “technical difficulties.”
When did reports initially break?
Golf insider Ryan French, via his Monday Q Info social media handle, broke the news on Tuesday night of a supposed “bombshell” announcement about LIV Golf’s future.
“I’ve heard from multiple sources that a bombshell announcement on LIVs future is imminent,” the post said.
“We don’t give out gambling advice but If you’re a prediction market type person I would bet the under of whatever they have posted.”
French expanded later on X Spaces on what he had been told, revealing he had heard from trustworthy sources that the rebel tour is “shutting down.”
“I have some pretty good sources and I’ve heard that some other people have sources that LIV is shutting down,” he said.
LIV Golf reportedly wasn’t paying bills
French also reported that he has been told that some players and employees had not been paid and that “power went out because the bill wasn’t paid.”
“I’ve got everything from, and these are people that I trust, that you guys know. Players didn’t get paid today, power went out because the bill wasn’t paid, employees didn’t get paid. Stuff like that,” he said.
“There is definitely a lot going on … Things are not good.”
Golf beat writer Alan Shipnuck later added fuel to the speculation, claiming that a player agent informed him that Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, is aiming to use the U.S.-Iran war “as Force Majeure to pull the plug” on PIF’s LIV venture.
“To use the old Hollywood (saying), ‘No one knows anything.’ But a tapped-in player agent just texted me, ‘Have heard MBS wants to use the war as Force Majeure to pull the plug,’” he wrote.
According to the Daily Mail, multiple agents said that they were in the dark about the future of the tour, which saw several players jump ship over the winter, including former major champions Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed.
Bryson Dechambeau also has shared his frustration over recent rule changes implemented by the rebel outfit.
LIV Golf has yet to officially comment on any of the reports, however, it has been posting promotional material and information about the event in Mexico on its social media.