Report: LIV Golf staffers looking for 'life raft' amid shutdown rumors

As rumors swirl about a possible shutdown, some LIV Golf staffers are looking for a “life raft,” The Athletic reported. Meetings among high-level executives are currently taking place about the future of the league.

The Financial Times reported earlier Wednesday that LIV could be in jeopardy of losing its funding. The Saudi Arabian-backed Public Investment Fund is “on the verge” of cutting support for the league, according to the report. In the meantime, players on the tour are getting ready for this week’s event in Mexico City while rumors swirl about what could lie ahead.

An announcement of some kind is expected as soon as Thursday about LIV’s future, according to the Financial Times. However, players haven’t been told anything about the next steps, according to Sergio Garcia.

“No, honestly, we haven’t heard anything other than what Yasir [Al-Rumayyan] already told us at the beginning of the year, that he is behind us,” Garcia said Wednesday, via Golfweek. “And well, honestly, you know how these rumors are. There are always a lot of them and I can’t tell you anything more than what we already know.”

LIV Golf launched in 2022 as a competitor to the PGA Tour and had the support of the PIF. Notable names such as Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson were among the group of players to join right away in what was a seminal moment in the golf world. Jon Rahm also came aboard later.

After LIV’s debut, the PGA Tour announced players will face a one-year suspension from their last LIV event until they can return, according to Golf Digest. Koepka was the first player to leave LIV Golf before the end of his contract and began making his way back to the PGA Tour. When he did, the Tour announced the pathway to return.

A group of players were eligible for a “Returning Member Program” if they have not been a Tour member for the previous two years and have won a major or The Players Championship in the years 2022-25. By that criteria, Koepka was one of three players eligible to return to the Tour for the 2026 season. DeChambeau, Rahm and Cam Smith were the others.

Players had make their decisions by Feb. 2, the Tour said, and have to accept financial penalties. However, the rest of the group chose to stay with LIV Golf and finish out their contracts with the league. Although there was chatter about trying to reunify professional golf, those talks since broke down.