LIV Golf CEO sends urgent memo to staff amid reports of funding being cut

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil has issued an urgent memo to his staff and players amid reports that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is planning to cut funding of the league.

The Telegraph first reported on Wednesday that LIV chiefs had held an 'emergency meeting' over the rebel golf tour's future.

LIV claimed that those reports were false, claiming that their leadership team is in Mexico City ahead of the start of Thursday's LIV Golf Mexico City event rather than in the reported meeting place of Manhattan.

But the Financial Times published a subsequent article on Wednesday claiming that the PIF were 'on the verge' of cutting funding of the tour.

It claimed that the tour has 'racked up huge losses' during its four-year lifespan despite the funding, which has been worth over 10 figures, and that an announcement over its future could be made today (Thursday).

LIV Golf star Sergio Garcia told reporters in Mexico City that players haven't been told anything surrounding the future of the tour since the beginning of 2026.

"We haven't heard anything other than what Yasir [Al-Rumayyan] already told us at the beginning of the year," the 2017 Masters winner said.

"That is, he's behind us, that they have a project of many years. There are always many rumours. I can't comment on anything more than what we know."

Read more: Sergio Garcia breaks silence on rumours LIV Golf will shut down

An announcement of sorts came from LIV CEO O'Neil, who sent a memo to staff which has been published by the Associated Press.

O'Neil says that the LIV season will 'continue exactly as planned', but didn't directly address speculation regarding PIF funding.

"I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle," he wrote.

"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."

He added: "To the teams in New York, London, and those on the ground here with me in Mexico: lean into this moment. The noise you hear is simply the sound of a movement that is working. Embrace it. 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."

After the Mexico City event, LIV do not have another event scheduled until May 7, which will be staged at the Trump National course in Washington DC.

The major PGA Tour dilemma facing LIV stars

LIV Golf launched in 2022 and have since paid out around $1bn to land some of the PGA Tour's biggest stars, including Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and, perhaps most significantly, Jon Rahm.

But Koepka left LIV at the end of 2025 and came back to the PGA Tour under their Returning Members Program - a limited-time opportunity which allowed players who had won a major between 2022 and 2025, and who had not been a member of the PGA Tour for two years, to make a return.

A series of strict rules were imposed on five-time major winner Koepka, including that he must pay $5 million in charitable donations to various PGA Tour-approved charities and must play in a minimum number of tournaments in 2026.

Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour (Image: Getty)

Read more: Five strict rules Brooks Koepka must follow after quitting LIV Golf

Reed has also left LIV and is playing on the DP World Tour this season. He is likely to earn his way back onto the PGA Tour next season through the DP World Tour rankings list.

Earlier this year, the DP World Tour allowed players to sign a waiver which would make them eligible to play in LIV Golf events in this season while still retaining their memberships and Ryder Cup eligibility.

Part of the agreement was that players had to pay imposed fines that they have accumulated for playing past LIV Golf events - which have reached the millions for some players.

For instance, Rahm has accumulated over $3 million in outstanding fines since joining LIV in 2023, but has repeatedly stated he is unwilling to pay them and has not signed the waiver.