LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil has claimed that the embattled golf tour has secured investment from an as-yet-unnamed source that will allow it to function beyond the 2026 campaign.
Though the investor is yet to be revealed, O’Neil said in a press conference that they have already signed a term sheet that has been approved by the LIV board.
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That agreement will “anchor” a new era for the tour, one that will involve its own participating players as equity holders, not only across 2027, but each season through 2030.
Indeed, the players – as a group – will be majority equity holders in the league, according to O’Neil, although it is yet to be revealed how that will look.
Additionally, LIV Golf also revealed that as many as a dozen other investors had registered interest in taking minority holdings in the property. However, no such deal has been made yet, with LIV stating that while those outside investors present an option, they should not now be required, thanks to the main (aforementioned) agreement.
At a press conference, O’Neil said: “We have that opportunity. We don't need them, but we have the opportunity to do it.
“I've spoken a little bit in the past about what this next generation of LIV Golf might look like. What I will tell you is we really are doubling down on this whole notion of complete not compete, and how do we take the incredible aspects from this last five years and this journey we've had and how do we move into an era of cooperation? How do we continue to open pathways for our players, for all players around the world?
“It's a really exciting day, the chance to get to steward a league where it's majority owned by players, which has never been done before in the history of sports, is more than special.”
O’Neil spoke ahead of this weekend’s LIV Golf Bedminster event, which is now the penultimate event on the 2026 calendar after the cancellation of the season-ending Tour Championship, another consequence of LIV’s current financial insecurity.
It was reported that as much as $300 million in investment was required in order to keep LIV Golf funded beyond 2026.
LIV’s primary backer, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, pulled its support of the tour earlier this year, which has led to a significant tightening of the purse strings and caused LIV to fall out with several important vendors and tournament operators.
The 2026 LIV Golf campaign now only has two remaining events, both to be held in the US, in New York (August 6-9) and Indianapolis (August 20-23).
In early May, LIV hired international investment bank Ducera Capital to help lead a new investment charge as it seeks to extend its position in the sports industry beyond 2026.
Overall, LIV has made net losses outside the US of over $1.1 billion since 2021, as of its 2024 financial results, including a post-tax loss of $461.8 million across the 2024 calendar year.
However, the series does claim that sponsorship revenue has grown 40% year-on-year, and that ticket sales have grown by 130% in the same period.
