Sports news
#LIV #Golf #postpones #June #event #set #Orleans #reports">LIV Golf postpones June event set for New Orleans: reports LIV Golf’s scheduled June event in Louisiana has been postponed, according to multiple reports on Monday, as the Saudi-backed series seeks new investment.
The Athletic and WDSU television in New Orleans reported that the New Orleans tournament, a new event set for June 25-28 at City Park’s Bayou Oaks, will not be played as planned.
LIV Golf chief executive officer Scott O’Neil and Susan Bourgeois, secretary of Louisiana economic development, spoke days after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) indicated it sought to drop financing for LIV, now in its fifth season, The Athletic reported.
Bourgeois and O’Neil spoke last Friday and agreed to postpone the tournament due to LIV’s business model changes, with an official announcement expected on Tuesday.
The Louisiana tournament remained on LIV Golf’s website schedule for June on Monday evening.
The Athletic reported the sides hoped to talk about a re-envisioned event this fall, although LIV’s final event for the 2026 campaign is set for August.
WDSU reported the state of Louisiana would postpone the event until LIV could find other funding sources and restructure.
City Park, owned by the state of Louisiana, received $2 million in state funding for upgrades to host the event and the state also set aside $3 million as a hosting fee to lure the event with hopes for $70 million in economic impact for the area, the television station reported.
The state would be refunded $1 million already paid to LIV and provide no additional money, WDSU reported.
The Athletic said $1.2 million would be returned to the state with the renovation money treated as an acceptable improvement to a state asset.
The move raises concerns about what could be the final months for LIV as O’Neil seeks money after this year’s potential PIF funding stoppage.
LIV arrived in 2022 and lured top PGA Tour talent with big contracts, Spain’s Jon Rahm winning the past two season crowns.
But the series has struggled for global attention and some players, such as Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, have jumped back to the PGA Tour or are in the process of doing so.
LIV Golf’s next scheduled event is at Trump National Golf Club in suburban Washington on May 7-10.
Other LIV stops are set for May in South Korea, June in Spain and July in England before the season closes with US stops in August at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey, Indianapolis and the team championship in Michigan on August 27-30.
Published on Apr 28, 2026
LIV Golf’s scheduled June event in Louisiana has been postponed, according to multiple reports on…
Sports news
#LIV #Golf #CEO #show #reports #Saudi #Arabia #funding #uncertainty">LIV Golf CEO says the show will go on amid reports of Saudi Arabia funding uncertainty
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil sought to quell speculation about the league’s financial future on Wednesday evening with a memo to his staff that said the 2026 season will continue as planned without interruption and “at full throttle”.
The memo, a copy of which was sent to The Associated Press, followed a long day of reports suggesting Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was on the verge of cutting its financial backing of the upstart league.
The newsletter Money in Sport reported in February that LIV Golf already had spent $5.3 billion and was projected to surpass $6 billion by the end of the year.
“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil said. “While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organisation that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.”
Left unclear was how long the funding would last for LIV Golf, which launched in June 2022 by paying roughly $1 billion in signing bonuses to some of the PGA Tour’s biggest names, such as Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm.
Prize money for individuals and the 13 teams was raised to $30 million this year.
Koepka since has left LIV and was allowed to rejoin the PGA Tour this year with stipulations. Patrick Reed also left LIV and is playing a European tour schedule this year. He is virtually certain to be eligible to return to the PGA Tour in 2027 through the European tour points race.
Questions about LIV’s future funding were raised as the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia revealed a new five-year investment strategy.
“The 2026-30 strategy marks a natural evolution as PIF moves from a period of rapid growth and acceleration to a new phase of sustained value creation, with a strengthened focus on maximising impact, raising the efficiency of investments, and applying the highest standards of governance, transparency and institutional excellence,” the PIF said in a release.
The plan was developed before the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor who loves golf and was behind LIV Golf, told the London-based Financial Times, “Of course, the war would add more pressure to reposition some priorities.”
LIV players at Chapultepec Golf Club for LIV Golf Mexico, which starts on Thursday, did not have answers as speculation ran rampant throughout the day.
One player said Al-Rumayyan met with players in the first week of March in Hong Kong and said funding for LIV was set through 2032. The player spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. The player also said O’Neil arrived in Mexico City on Wednesday and was to meet with the players.
LIV Golf promoted the Mexico event on Wednesday evening on social media with the message, “Slow news day? We are ON.”
LIV has played five events this year, in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa. It celebrated an inspirational victory at its biggest event in Australia when Anthony Kim won after the American had been away for 12 years while battling drug and alcohol addiction.
DeChambeau won the last two events in playoffs, and this week tries to become the first LIV player to win three in a row. DeChambeau, a two-time U.S. Open champion, missed the cut in the Masters last week.
LIV’s focus has been on a global reach, with its first U.S. tournament not scheduled until May 7-10 at Trump National in northern Virginia.
“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure,” O’Neil said. “We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”
He ended his note to the staff by saying, “We are pioneers, and while the road isn’t always smooth, the destination is worth every mile. Let’s go out and show the world why LIV Golf is the future of the game.”
LIV is in the second year of a Fox Sports television deal, with the network putting it on various platforms like FS1. The opening round of the Mexico event has three hours on the Fox Sports app. The previous two years, its U.S. broadcast partner was the CW.
Published on Apr 17, 2026
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil sought to quell speculation about the league’s financial future on Wednesday evening with a memo to his staff that said the 2026 season will continue as planned without interruption and “at full throttle”.
The memo, a copy of which was sent to The Associated Press, followed a long day of reports suggesting Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was on the verge of cutting its financial backing of the upstart league.
The newsletter Money in Sport reported in February that LIV Golf already had spent $5.3 billion and was projected to surpass $6 billion by the end of the year.
“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil said. “While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organisation that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.”
Left unclear was how long the funding would last for LIV Golf, which launched in June 2022 by paying roughly $1 billion in signing bonuses to some of the PGA Tour’s biggest names, such as Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm.
Prize money for individuals and the 13 teams was raised to $30 million this year.
Koepka since has left LIV and was allowed to rejoin the PGA Tour this year with stipulations. Patrick Reed also left LIV and is playing a European tour schedule this year. He is virtually certain to be eligible to return to the PGA Tour in 2027 through the European tour points race.
Questions about LIV’s future funding were raised as the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia revealed a new five-year investment strategy.
“The 2026-30 strategy marks a natural evolution as PIF moves from a period of rapid growth and acceleration to a new phase of sustained value creation, with a strengthened focus on maximising impact, raising the efficiency of investments, and applying the highest standards of governance, transparency and institutional excellence,” the PIF said in a release.
The plan was developed before the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor who loves golf and was behind LIV Golf, told the London-based Financial Times, “Of course, the war would add more pressure to reposition some priorities.”
LIV players at Chapultepec Golf Club for LIV Golf Mexico, which starts on Thursday, did not have answers as speculation ran rampant throughout the day.
One player said Al-Rumayyan met with players in the first week of March in Hong Kong and said funding for LIV was set through 2032. The player spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. The player also said O’Neil arrived in Mexico City on Wednesday and was to meet with the players.
LIV Golf promoted the Mexico event on Wednesday evening on social media with the message, “Slow news day? We are ON.”
LIV has played five events this year, in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa. It celebrated an inspirational victory at its biggest event in Australia when Anthony Kim won after the American had been away for 12 years while battling drug and alcohol addiction.
DeChambeau won the last two events in playoffs, and this week tries to become the first LIV player to win three in a row. DeChambeau, a two-time U.S. Open champion, missed the cut in the Masters last week.
LIV’s focus has been on a global reach, with its first U.S. tournament not scheduled until May 7-10 at Trump National in northern Virginia.
“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure,” O’Neil said. “We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”
He ended his note to the staff by saying, “We are pioneers, and while the road isn’t always smooth, the destination is worth every mile. Let’s go out and show the world why LIV Golf is the future of the game.”
LIV is in the second year of a Fox Sports television deal, with the network putting it on various platforms like FS1. The opening round of the Mexico event has three hours on the Fox Sports app. The previous two years, its U.S. broadcast partner was the CW.
Published on Apr 17, 2026
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil sought to quell speculation about the league’s financial future on…