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When Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund pulled its funding in April 2026, some LIV players started weighing their options. Brooks Koepka exited his contract and rejoined the PGA Tour via a one-time returning member program, while Patrick Reed used a separate pathway back to mainstream golf. But many, including Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, reaffirmed their belief in the breakaway league. And their prayers have been answered as LIV Golf has found some hope.

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On August 5, Scott O’Neil revealed at a press conference ahead of LIV Golf New York that LIV has “an agreement in place with a lead investor.” He claimed that the investor had already signed the deal and that the board had approved it. He also noted strong interest from more than a dozen additional parties looking to become minority investors. If everything falls into place, LIV Golf might have a multi-partner model. A media representative asked the CEO how LIV golfers feel about their future and how many have openly committed to the league.

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“I will tell you, like some love that responsibility. The way they engage the media, the way they work with our partners. And others see this as a second bite at the apple. There’s no shame in people making money for their craft. The best people in the world at what they do should make a good living, and I don’t think there’s any shame in that. So many of them came because this was a good opportunity for them to make some money, and this second bite at the apple is equity instead of cash. That’s great. That’s an unbelievable opportunity,” Scott O’Neil said.

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“Others love the team aspect and the camaraderie that comes with being part of a team. It’s a lot less lonely. They travel together. They live together. They eat together. Their families know each other. Some others might stay and play because the caddies are welcome as our partners and the families are welcome as our partners. I would say like this is a very, very special Tour.”

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For instance, Bryson DeChambeau, all-in on team golf, even challenged Tiger Woods‘ Jupiter Links GC to a match.

Similarly, Dustin Johnson, for instance, when asked about the future of LIV Golf at the Korea event, bluntly said, “Long LIV Golf.” Last week, when the Ripper GC members were asked whether they wanted to connect with the PGA Tour to find a pathway back to the tour, most said they wanted to continue with LIV Golf.

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Major champion Cameron Smith said his contract runs through the end of next year and he intends to complete it. After that, he wants to negotiate successfully with LIV and continue his journey there. His teammate Marc Leishman is also confident that the league will be back in 2027, and he will continue there.

LIV Golf may not offer large money contracts or maintain the $30 million purse next year, but the league is compensating for that by offering equity to players. O’Neil explained to the media that he and his team, including Ollie Banks and Katie O’Reilly, are walking players through equity details because many of them don’t know much about how the equity model works. Besides that, LIV Golf is handing over some of the NIL rights to its players.

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The CEO also noted how stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are not just inspiring youngsters but also engaging with fans. Thanks to that, some LIV Golf events, like the ones in Adelaide and South Africa, saw massive success this year.

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Written by

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Kailash Bhimji Vaviya

971 Articles

Kailash Vaviya is a Golf Journalist at EssentiallySports, covering both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. His reporting spans major championship contention, player performance, and the ongoing tensions between the two circuits, from the financial pressures LIV players face to the tour politics shaping where careers go. He has followed golf closely since his college years, and that long-running familiarity informs how he covers the game, placing week-to-week results within the bigger structural stories around them. Before joining EssentiallySports, Kailash wrote for Comic Book Resources (CBR) and Forbes, where he developed a research-driven approach to sports and media reporting. He brings that same attention to accuracy and structure to his golf work, with particular depth on the business and political side of the professional game alongside the competitive storylines that define each tournament week.

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Abhimanyu Gupta

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