The Round Table: Is this the end of LIV Golf?

Each week, we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

Last week, it was rumoured that LIV Golf was done. CEO Scott O’Neill issued a strong statement that they were assured of funding through the balance of 2026 but didn’t make any promises beyond that. LIV’s backer, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is re-assessing its priorities and most reports indicate that pro golf won’t be one of them. What’s your take on the news and how do you see it impacting the PGA Tour moving forward?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): I don’t mean to brag, but I predicted over two years The ago that LIV would implode before 2028, and I think that will happen.  All I can say is, good riddance to a bad experience.  The whole thing stank of cynicism, greed, bad thinking, weak concept, and quasi-immoral backing.  Hopefully things will carry on uneventfully with the PGA Tour.  I personally don’t care if any of the defectors come back to the Tour, I didn’t miss them anyway.

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: This will cause big problems as life gets back on track. Some players will appeal to the PGA Tour and/or the DP Tour but these have closed opportunities. Courses that are committed to future L1V events will now become available to the LPGA, PGA tour or even the DP Tour. Equipment suppliers will have to re-negotiate contracts. Secondary tours i.e. Korn Ferry Tour will all become ‘clogged’ which affects sponsors and tournament sites. The shame is the original concept forged by the Saudis, the rejection by the PGA TOUR to even discuss the matter and the potential to ‘grow’ the game around the world are lost. The PGA TOUR players are beneficiaries of the massive increases in prize money.

TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAwayTJ): It was never a great business model given the terrible ROI for PIF, so I guess this was probably inevitable.  And with a couple of their big names leaving this year, it’s not a big surprise either.  I hope everyone can find a way to play nice in the sandbox once this is all done – assuming it is of course.  The PGA Tour is always stronger when it has all the top players in the world.  They likely need to make the tour more international as that’s clearly a desire for the players and fans alike.  The success of the LIV events in Australia at least magnifies that point.  I’m looking forward to seeing Rahm and DeChambeau and others back on the top tour, challenging Scottie and others for top dog.

Hal Quinn, Freelance Writer, Vancouver: Well, the wise guys are saying DeChambeau is looking for $500 M (US) to re-sign. That rumour alone should finally convince the Saudi Sports Washing Fund purse string holders that this ain’t working. Those with better batteries in their calculators than mine estimate that LIV is about $5 Billion (US) in the hole. When LIV goes away, it will have no effect on the PGA Tour. It has already forced it to open its secret bank account and give more to the players, and it can’t retreat from that. So, it will be biz as unusual at the Tour, as it always has been.

If LIV Golf does fold after this season, a lot of players, including top ranked players like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, as well as former major winners will be looking for a place to compete. How should the PGA Tour deal with these players?

Deeks: I’ve also said for some time, that anyone who left the Tour should only be allowed back to the Tour if they go through the same qualifying process any other hopeful goes through.  Specifically: The primary PGA Tour qualifying process, known as Q-School, is a gruelling multi-stage tournament in the fall where the top five finishers and ties earn instant PGA Tour cards. Other routes include graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour (top 30), finishing top 10 on the DP World Tour, or via PGA TOUR University.  Brooks Koepka managed to slither back by paying a fraction of the LIV Tour bonus money he earned, to charity, which I thought was ridiculously lenient.

Schurman: I was never opposed to L1V. I don’t like the ‘sports washing’ part but I agreed the players should seek the highest compensation they could find. In that capacity, L1V was nothing more than Free Agency. When Mario played for the Flyers, he signed a huge contract and was owed some back-pay. The club went broke and Mario held one of the biggest debts. Subsequently, he became an owner of the restructured franchise. I wonder how much debt the players are carrying or have they been paid. How much of their contracts are based on performance, how much was up front? The question now is “How many and who will be allowed to return to the PGA Tour”? Given a recent ‘window’ was opened and closed there undoubtedly will be discussion. The PGA TOUR has long since filled all of its spots and is about to reduce the number. The public wants to see some of these attractions but there is a predicament of fairness. All the ‘feeder’ tours are also full. The most equitable solution would be to give them a ‘one time’ opportunity to by-pass the first three stages of qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour and let them go directly to the Final Qualifying Rounds. They should pay the prescribed fine and serve the appropriate suspension. Once on the Korn Ferry Tour, they can earn their way back to the PGA TOUR by the normal rules that apply.

Rule: It’s clear they will have to find a way to let the players back on Tour, it’s best for both sides.  But given the financial windfall many of them enjoyed, there has to be penalties similar to what Koepka faced.  I’m sure there’s a middle ground that can be reached.  If the players don’t want to pay financial penalties, they’ll have to find a way back to the Tour another way, perhaps like Patrick Reed has via the DP World Tour.  It will be interesting to see.

Quinn: The Tour gave them an offer that they refused (Koepka accepted and reminded fans why they didn’t miss him; Reed… no one but his wife cares). The name ones still at LIV  are now wealthy beyond their imaginings (and talent). If they want to come back to the Tour, get there like the other hundreds of players (talented, mostly broke) striving to make it to The Show. Earn it.

Two weeks ago, Scottie Scheffler overcame a slow start at the Masters with a massive move on the weekend to almost catch Rory McIlroy. This past week was more of the same as Scheffler went low on the weekend to catch Matt Fitzpatrick at the finish, then lose in a playoff. In previous seasons, Scheffler has racked up large numbers of wins but his latest showings have been lots of top finishes without a trophy. Should we be concerned about Scheffler’s slow starts or encouraged by his strong weekends, even though he’s not winning?

Deeks: I’m not concerned at all.  Scottie is the most consistent player on Tour, and one of the two best players in the game (the other being, guess who?)  I suspect his slow Thursday-Friday starts of late may be due to the fact that he and his wife have two children under age 2.  Changing diapers at 3:00am might impede one’s circadian rhythm, doncha think?

Schurman: The poor guy is only human. Every player and every person had to deal with lackluster performance. Scottie is just fine. In fact, he had been driving poorly but a week before Augusta, he found a new driver. He was very good as the week wore on . This week, at the Heritage, he was magnificent. Players at this level can work around any part of their game but consistently poor driving will cause early retirement.

Rule: It is strange how slowly he starts tournaments.  If you take away the one tournament he won this year, his first round scoring average is 70.25, and on the weekend he averages 67.1, that’s a staggering difference.  Part of that is how good he is under pressure on the weekend but I wonder if the slow starts may be related to spending as much time as possible with his young family and not being fully prepared mentally for a tournament, then when he’s full engulfed in the tourney, he gets into his zone.  That would be understandable given how much of a family man he is. I’m not worried about him winning a few more times this year, he’s still clearly the top player in the world, and all he needs is a decent start and he’s in contention come Sunday, so we’ll see a lot more Scottie on Sundays the rest of the way.

Quinn: Hard to be concerned for a guy whose caddy can list a property for over $10 M. Sure he’s magic on the weekends, but even when he’s “struggling” in the opening rounds, innocent TV viewers are subjected to watching his every shot! It would be nice to avert eyes and hear that he’s missed the cut and look forward to a Scottie-free weekend. It’s reminiscent of Nicklaus-Norman-Woods — all #1 all the time. Enough already! The world, and golf, can relax and give him some weekend time with the newborn.