LIV or die: Future of golf's rebel competition hangs in the balance

Speculation continues to grow surrounding LIV Golf’s future with the Saudia Arabian backed competition at risk of a major funding withdrawal.

It would be a major blow to the relatively new competition, with its future looking untenable without the financial support from the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Golf expert and Sports Illustrated writer Bob Harig joined Tom Morris on SEN’s Whateley to share an update on the unfolding situation.

“I mean, it's been kind of a tumultuous 24 hours, you know, these reports started to surface that LIV was possibly in danger, that the PIF, the Public Investment Fund, was going to pull its funding,” Harig said on growing fears for LIV’s future.

“There was even talk that they might shut down as soon as this week. It appears that that is not going to be the case.

“They have a tournament in Mexico City that begins Thursday, and their CEO Scott O'Neill has pledged that they're pushing forward.”

However, Harig raised his concerns given that despite the intense media speculation, LIV Golf had made no effort to quash the rumours so far.

“All of this came though, after a lot of media scrutiny and with no comment whatsoever from Liv,” Harig said.

“They made no attempt to squelch it earlier in the day.

“The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, these are not like fly-by-night operations. They both reported that the PIF was going to drastically reduce its funding, and basically, LIV Golf is completely supported by that entity.”

The rebel golf competition was created as a breakaway alternative to the long-running PGA Tournament, with players being lured over with significant financial incentives. However, since the league began in June 2022, organisers have struggled to generate significant revenue.

“They do not have revenue that supports them paying $30 million a tournament in purses and these huge signing bonuses to players like Bryson DeChambeau and John Rahm,” Harig said.

“They've operated at a substantial loss now going into their fifth year.”

With the losses mounting and the pressure growing on the league to prove to their backers that the competition is worth the investment, time is running out.

“If the public investment fund were to drastically reduce funding, well, what does that mean?” Harig asked.

“It either means you're going to shut down, or it means you've got to find a way to secure more revenue.”

A shutdown would be devastating for South Australia, who have invested heavily in the tournament that has been hailed as a success, generating $81 million for the state in 2025. It led to the announcement from SA Premier Peter Malinauskas that North Adelaide Golf Course would receive a $45 million makeover to become the host of the LIV Adelaide tournament from 2028.

That investment is looking riskier by the day despite the popularity of the event within Australia.

With its future hanging in the balance, Harig believes that the competition needs to embrace the qualities that have made Adelaide so successful and emulate them more in the other tournaments.

“I mean, in Adelaide, one of the reasons it's so popular is it's not like it's right next door to go to Sydney for the Australian Open,” Harig said.

“And the Australian Open doesn't always have (players) like John Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, and some of these players that play for LIV, who are big stars, and so they want to go see them, (such as) Phil Mickelson.”

Attracting new superstars is looking increasingly difficult, though, with the PGA establishing itself as more desirable for the game’s big names.

“The problem is, they haven't gotten any big-name new players, since John Rahm,” Harig said.

“That was their big selling point early on, that ‘look at who they brought on.’

“Brooks (Koepka) and Patrick Reed have already left, and so, are you going to be able to get any more new blood in there to help you?

“And I think on a day like today, where they have some of these issues that come up that might make some players pause about joining LIV.”

For now, it seems that LIV Golf will continue to operate, but beyond this year, it’s anyone’s guess as to what happens next.