HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA | As the PGA Tour’s $20 million RBC Heritage was coming to life Thursday morning at Harbour Town Golf Links, it was difficult to escape the swirling questions about the future of LIV Golf that have emerged this week.
Nearly 2,000 miles away in Mexico City, LIV Golf will go on with business as usual this week with its sixth event of the season kicking off Thursday after speculation one day earlier that the rebel league could cease operations immediately.
According to a memo from LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil sent to staff and tour members and confirmed by a player Thursday morning, the LIV season is expected to be played to its completion this year, though several reports suggest the Saudi Arabian funding that has underpinned the league since it began in 2022 will likely end.
It is the latest turbulent twist in LIV Golf’s relatively short existence and raises serious questions about its long-term viability.
According to various reports, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has put approximately $5 billion into the golf league, which has failed to develop any significant traction within the United States.
The Financial Times reported that under the direction of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the PIF will reappropriate its vast resources to focus on different areas including domestic projects. It is believed that means the funding for LIV Golf will end.
The Telegraph in the United Kingdom reported that LIV executives were summoned to an emergency meeting in New York in recent days, and O’Neil went to Mexico City on Wednesday.
“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil wrote in his memo, first obtained by ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
“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.”
With LIV’s future now in serious doubt, talk of the league’s top players potentially returning to the PGA Tour will likely gain momentum as the year goes on.
Since O’Neil succeeded Greg Norman as CEO of the organization in January 2025, LIV Golf has landed several notable sponsors but would need a substantial infusion of capital to sustain the league, which established its presence immediately by signing a number of players to reported eight- and nine-figure contracts, including Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.
LIV’s influence on the golf landscape is evident at the RBC Heritage, which is one of eight signature events featuring a $20 million purse. The creation of the signature events was in direct response to the LIV threat and has proven to be a boon to top PGA Tour players.
As rumors intensified Wednesday, players around Harbour Town had more questions than answers. Ironically, former LIV golfer Koepka was at the RBC Heritage as the first alternate, waiting to see if there was a late withdrawal that would get him into the field.
With LIV’s future now in serious doubt, talk of the league’s top players potentially returning to the PGA Tour will likely gain momentum as the year goes on.
“If some guys that haven’t been here for a few years come back over, then good for them, and if not, then it doesn’t really matter to me,” said Jacob Bridgeman, winner of the tour’s recent Genesis Invitational.