08/05/26 10:33:00
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08/05 10:29 CDT LIV Golf has lead investor and planning ahead for another season
LIV Golf has lead investor and planning ahead for another season
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil announced an agreement Wednesday with a lead investor
that would allow the rival league to forge ahead without the backing of Saudi
funding while making players major equity holders.
O'Neil did not identify the investor, only that it has signed an agreement that
was approved by LIV's board and signals "the path forward for the League's next
era, driven by and for the players."
O'Neil said LIV is getting "strong interest" from more than a dozen other
parties who would be minority investors as the league tries to survive. They
spoke on the eve of LIV Golf New York at Trump Bedminster, the penultimate
individual tournament.
LIV is to play in Indianapolis on Aug. 20-23. The season-ending team
championship in Michigan has been in doubt for several weeks, mainly because
the course has not even begun setting up for a tournament scheduled to start in
three weeks.
LIV Golf, which launched in 2022 with the financial backing of the Public
Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, paid nine-figure bonuses to lure top players
like Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm away from
the PGA Tour, offering $20 million prize funds.
But it all began to fall apart earlier this year when PIF said it would no
longer fund LIV Golf after the 2026 season. One event in New Orleans already
was scrapped.
O'Neil met with team captains on Tuesday, and DeChambeau led a player-only
meeting later in the afternoon, though none of the players shared details.
O'Neil said he expected to finalize terms with the lead investor in the next
few weeks with the goal of getting it done in September. The plan for what is
being referred to as "LIV Golf 2.0" is for 10 team events each year, five of
them in the United States and five others around the world.
It also wants to stage events leading into the majors and having a schedule
that allows its player to compete on other circuits. Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton
already play on the European tour. The PGA Tour still has a one-year ban on
anyone competing on LIV.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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