Golf World Braces for Major Upheaval Immediately After the Masters
The golf world is still reacting to Rory McIlroy's impressive victory on Sunday to earn his second consecutive green jacket at the Masters, but another major story in the sport is emerging in its aftermath.
LIV Golf debuted in 2022 to much hype and fanfare. The tour offered veteran players guaranteed contracts in the nine-figure range, and many top PGA Tour professionals defected for higher pay and an easier event schedule.
Major champions like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm joined LIV, angering the PGA Tour and fracturing the best players in golf across two different circuits.
The tour quickly became a lightning rod for controversy, as it is financed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, a nation some have criticized for its image on the global stage.
Others felt that top players leaving the PGA Tour for a series with no cuts and a 54-hole structure undermined the competitive nature of the sport, and that those who left to play in LIV were taking the easy way out when compared to their PGA Tour counterparts.
As LIV prepares to hold an event in Mexico City this week, serious doubts are being cast about the tour's future. Rumors have surfaced regarding discord within the tour, and the possibility that PIF could remove or reduce funding.
Reports of Disarray Within LIV Golf This Week
Golf reporter Ryan French of Monday Q Info reported on social media that players and employees within LIV weren't being paid, and that "there is definitely a lot going on… Things are not good.”
When asked about the rumored announcement regarding LIV, Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said that he wasn't surprised to hear that things seemed to be heading in a negative direction.
Given that the product was so ill-conceived and ended up being worse than anyone could have imagined - with shotgun starts, initially 54 holes, a team concept that was nothing but laughable and tournaments that meant and continue to mean nothing, and such a paltry number of… https://t.co/WJth9YyWAJ
— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) April 15, 2026
"Given that the product was so ill-conceived and ended up being worse than anyone could have imagined...would it surprise anyone if the Saudis came to their corrupted senses and finally euthanized the whole lame-brained tour," Chamblee posited on social media.
BREAKING: Sources indicate LIV is preparing to wind down operations as the Public Investment Fund (PIF) reassesses its broader strategy amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
— trey wingo (@wingoz) April 15, 2026
A recent board meeting in New York focused on the league’s near-term future, including whether to…
Former ESPN personality and sports journalist Trey Wingo reported that LIV is "preparing to wind down operations" after a recent board meeting in New York. Wingo notes that the PIF is re-evaluating its strategy and spending amid the current conflicts in the Middle East.
Wingo noted that the decision to move on from LIV is not motivated by the tour's financial performance. He says that the tour is funded through 2030, and that this decision is driven by "evolving geopolitical priorities."
LIV Players Could Move Back to PGA Tour
If LIV does fold or significantly reduce operations, there has been an established path for former PGA Tour players to return. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed have each begun the process of fulfilling the tour's demand for defectors.
With no equivalent tour in terms of reach or prize money readily available, players like Rahm and DeChambeau could follow suit within the coming months.
A LIV Golf event is scheduled for this weekend in Mexico City, and all official indications currently show that the event will go on as scheduled. We'll see if that's the case, and if this ends up being the final event in LIV's short history.