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CEO says LIV faces deadline for funding deal, needs player buy-in Chief executive Scott O’Neil admitted on Aug 19 that LIV Golf has “a very compressed timeline” to finalise a deal with a new lead investor, and such an agreement will require buy-in from a majority of the current player roster. O’Neil addressed the media ahead of LIV Golf Indianapolis, which will serve as the final event of the season after the league cancelled the LIV Golf Team Championship in Michigan amid a financial crunch. With the Saudi Public Investment Fund withdrawing its support after the end of the current season, LIV faces an uncertain future that could involve filing for bankruptcy, as vendors and even players have said they are still awaiting certain paycheques. After a lengthy opening statement in which he insisted LIV wanted to “move forward” and “complete, not compete” in the greater golf ecosystem, O’Neil faced questions about the latest developments surrounding the league, including the recent announcement of a lead investor that would fund operations from 2027 through 2030. “We have a very compressed timeline to get the deal done,” O’Neil said. “I’m not going to share that here. But I can tell you we’re well on our way to a transaction. Very excited about the future.” Ted Goldthorpe, the head of investment firm BC Partners, is reported to be the new lead investor who has agreed to a term sheet with LIV. However, that funding agreement would be contingent on how many of LIV’s top players commit to remaining with the league in 2027 and beyond, something O’Neil essentially confirmed on Aug 19. “Look, the entirety of our focus is to get to this transaction and get through it,” O’Neil said. “Without the players, that becomes very difficult. I have a good level of confidence in my conversation that we’ll have a critical mass of the right players to move this league forward.” He went on to say there is a deadline to get players on board with the deal, without elaborating on when or what type of deadline that is. “The whole focus is on transaction, transaction, transaction,” he said. “We’re spending all our time thinking about how we best land this plane and have it landed so we can take off again. All our focus is in that direction.” O’Neil, who replaced Greg Norman as LIV’s CEO in early 2025, vowed to “do right by” vendors and contractors that have sued the league for missed payments. “I wasn’t here in the early days, but at least reputationally, it was a bit more free-spending than it will be in the future. We’ve taken a real disciplined look at the cost side of the business,” said O’Neil. “When some of the uncertainty came into the future of the business, we brought the management team together, and we had some decisions to make. Fortunately, almost all of us stood together. Nobody ran for the hills. We said, you know, how do we create a business, a sustainable business plan, a business model. So we spent the next 10 days and wrote one.” Spain’s Jon Rahm – LIV’s individual champion for three straight years since he stunningly joined the league in 2024 – reportedly is interested in returning to the PGA Tour and is still owed more than US$100 million (S$127 million) by LIV. But one player who appears to be all-in on keeping LIV alive is Bryson DeChambeau. Goldthorpe’s BC Partners has a stake in DeChambeau’s agency, GSE, and the American golfer, 32, reportedly led a players’ meeting at LIV Golf New York in Bedminster, New Jersey. “I have a lot of time for Bryson. I talk to him quite a bit,” O’Neil said. “Having spent 30 years in this business of sports, spending time with professional athletes for most of it, I’ve never met one who’s truly, truly not what they say but what they do, truly focused and mission-driven, and he’s one of those guys. He cares about the global game of golf. He cares about building this next generation of fans. “I don’t think anybody works harder on or off the course. I’m sure there’s somebody; I just haven’t seen it. Bryson has become a good friend, a good advocate of the league. I certainly hope he’s with us for the future.” Separately, Masters champion Rory McIlroy said it could be a “tough road back” for LIV Golf players who may be eyeing a return to the PGA Tour and questioned what value they would even offer the US-based circuit. “I mean, I would argue, have they brought value to LIV? You know?” McIlroy said ahead of this week’s BMW Championship. “I think the PGA Tour’s in a really good spot.” Brooks Koepka took advantage of a limited-time returning member programme in early 2026 to rejoin the PGA Tour after leaving LIV Golf in December 2025, and McIlroy believes any other returning players would not be welcomed back straight away. “I think it was said at the time that the deal that they might get going forward, if they do decide to come back, isn’t going to be as good as the one that Brooks got,” said the Northern Irishman. “So, yeah, I would say it’s going to be a tough, tough road back.” REUTERS