Out of seemingly nowhere, the future of the LIV Golf Tour has been put in serious jeopardy.
The breakaway golf tour previously relied on funding from the Saudi Arabia-backed Public Investment Fund to back extremely high purses and bring in top players with massive signing bonuses. But that funding is coming to an end after the 2026 season, throwing all of that progress into jeopardy.
Several prominent players have now addressed the financial situation, including Bryson DeChambeau. DeChambeau said a potential return to the PGA Tour is up in the air and that he’s ready to focus on his YouTube career if the PGA membership doesn’t want him back. He was also adamant that the team model LIV uses has proven to be a huge success that’s created value for the players.
And clearly, some agree with him.
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Thomas Pieters said in a new interview he’s never going back to the PGA Tour, and that he’s hopeful LIV can find a way through this challenge. Another one of his 4Aces teammates is seemingly on the same page.
In a new interview with the “Beyond the Clubhouse” podcast, PGA Tour winner Thomas Detry said he’s fully committed to LIV and believes the tour and its different format have been a huge success.
Detry explained he shut down his social media accounts because there were so many “lies” that spread rapidly. He also said that playing on LIV has changed the “misconception” he previously had.
“The biggest misconception is, the product is amazing,” he said. “I didn’t realize how good the product was. I think LIV’s an amazing product. We go all around the world, the tournaments are so good. Don’t take me wrong, there’s many things that can improve, but it’s still a start up. It’s only 4-years-old.”
Detry also said that despite assumptions in the greater golf world, the players “enjoy” it, and most don’t want to return to the PGA format.
“You see sometimes on social media that the players hate it and want to come back and that’s not the truth,” he continued. “Players really love it out here and want to make this successful. So I think that’s what I got out of my first 6 weeks.”
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Detry’s also committed to the long haul with LIV, saying he has no intention of leaving and wants the rest of the roster to show “cohesion and support” for the format.
“I’m fully supportive of the whole thing,” he said. “I think the players who stand behind the whole thing as well. But now is the time for this whole league and every player out here to show cohesion and support for this whole thing. I think now is a moment where it’s not the right time to have individualistic people and ego-centric people going their own way. I think if everyone stands for each other and we all give this thing our full support, it’s going to go a long way.
“I’m fully supportive of the whole thing and believe in the future of LIV.”
When news broke that the PIF was pulling out of golf, many expected the tour to fold almost immediately. While that might still happen after the 2026 season, if CEO Scott O’Neil isn’t able to find new investors, there has been a fairly consistent message from the players that they prefer the LIV format to the PGA schedule.
That makes sense, after all, they chose LIV when given the opportunity. There are also benefits, beyond the obviously larger financial rewards. Namely, shorter schedules, fewer tournaments and more certainty. Or at least, more certainty pre-PIF announcement. LIV Golf Virginia is underway currently at Trump National just outside Washington, D.C., and none of the players backed out of participating.
There’s been the assumption that the entirety of the LIV field would move back to the PGA Tour immediately after 2026. Based on what we’re hearing so far, that doesn’t seem likely to be the case.
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