RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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LIV Golf looked like a threat to the PGA Tour when it pried away the likes of Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka while flaunting its deep pockets as it launched in 2022.
Four years later, these are different times for the golf league financed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.
According to ESPN, the PIF invested more than $5 billion into LIV Golf since its first tournament in June 2022 and $100 million per month this season. Now the money is drying up fast.
The PIF is providing funding only through LIV's 2026 season, which has led to layoffs after the league completed its final 2026 event last weekend in Indianapolis .
LIV Golf says it is informing the majority of its workforce this week that their employment will end the first week of September .
“The funding commitment announced by PIF earlier this year will reach its conclusion," a LIV Golf spokesperson said in a statement provided to Golfweek and USA TODAY Sports. "As a result, we are scaling back operations as we transition to the next chapter of LIV Golf and work toward making LIV 2.0 a reality.
"This week, we informed many of our colleagues that their employment under LIV 1.0 will end in the first week of September. We are grateful to our employees for their hard work and dedication in building LIV Golf, and we remain committed to supporting those affected through this transition."
Can LIV Golf 2.0 rebound and survive?
The league’s season-ending team championship, originally scheduled to begin Thursday, Aug. 27, in Detroit, has been canceled. The purse for the event in Indianapolis last week was cut in half to $10 million.
Once poised to challenge, if not overtake, the PGA Tour, the league has expressed optimism about what it has branded LIV Golf 2.0.
LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil is working to finalize a deal with a new lead investor while at the same time scaling back operations.
"We definitely have a lot against us," DeChambeau said at a press conference Aug. 6. "But I think behind the scenes we've got a lot of people that are working hard to make this possible for not only all the players that are out here but all the fans that have come out to these events and the economic impact that we've made in all these places (where events were held)."
LIV Golf says sponsorship grew by nearly 60% in 2026 and spiked the previous year by 300%. LIV Golf also said broadcast audiences continue to grow and cited 5.5 million global viewers for its LIV Adelaide event in February.
The league also has touted a "next-generation audience" it says includes 36% of fans attending their first golf event. LIV Golf said its event in Adelaide drew 115,000 fans, while more than 100,000 attended its event in South Africa that, according to the league, represented record-breaking attendance for golf events in Australia and South Africa.
How do LIV Golf players feel?
As LIV Golf reshapes itself , many players are facing an uncertain future. The league's original model promised 14 events annually with $20 million individual purses, but that framework has already shifted. LIV canceled two tournaments this season, and the season finale featured a reduced $10 million individual purse, with $30 million allocated to the team competition.
The next iteration of the league is expected to be leaner, with a schedule reportedly trimmed to 10 events and lower purses across the board. Rumors have also swirled that returning players could receive equity stakes in the league as part of a new compensation structure. Meanwhile, questions remain about the massive contracts that fueled LIV's launch, including reports that Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm is still owed a nine-figure sum from his original deal.
Tyrrell Hatton has done more than secure his financial future since making the jump. Over three seasons, he amassed nearly $43 million in individual earnings and bonuses, the ninth-highest total in league history. And while the circuit may look dramatically different in 2027 than it has during its first few years, Hatton remains confident it will survive.
"I know they have worked really hard to getting funding stuff in place. So I know it's full steam ahead on that front," Hatton said. "From my side, even when I joined LIV at the start of 2024, I've continued to play where I can on the DP World Tour. I think I've shown over these three years that I'm pretty committed to playing here, and I've made every effort possible to do that.
Golfweek's Cameron Jourdan contributed reporting to this post.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Can LIV Golf 2.0 rebound and survive?
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