LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil refused to be drawn on whether the league’s remaining events of 2026 will take place as he outlined the scramble for post-Saudi investment.
O’Neil is seeking $300m from outside backers to keep the breakaway circuit afloat after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced plans to withdraw funding at the end of the year, having invested more than £4bn since 2022.
“I’ve had five formal meetings so far,” O’Neil told CNBC. “I’ve got 18 more this week and about the same next week.
“What’s been really interesting is how you slice this. Is it one partner, maybe a big private equity firm, coming in for the full $300m, or do you have 10 or 12 investors at $50m or $25m?”
Securing that funding during the 46-day gap between LIV’s last event in Spain and its next stop in the UK at JCB Golf & Country Club on July 23 is, he admits, critical.
“What we don’t have is a lot of time,” he added. “We’re urgently out there talking to those who are interested. We like the pool, but we have to get this done through the summer.”
The cancellation of LIV’s New Orleans event created the break in the schedule, and when asked if the final four stops in the UK, New York, Indianapolis and Michigan would go ahead, O’Neil again sidestepped the question.
“What I can guarantee is a heck of a return if you come invest in this business,” he said.
O’Neil added that any new model would look markedly different, built around tighter cost controls and a more sustainable structure.
“We’re cutting the expense side dramatically, and the revenue momentum we’ve had – we’re already up $100m year-on-year – means we have really good business momentum,” he said.
“This is about getting costs under control, reimagining what the business could and should look like, and engaging players as partners, as true equity partners in this business.”
