Australian media mogul Kerry Packer once said, “When the money is on the table, take it off the table.”
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It’s a line that feels like it was written exclusively for the LIV Golf era. Because whatever happens next, let’s not kid ourselves about one thing: the players have won. Handsomely. Life-changing money, global exposure and, for many, a far more manageable schedule. You’d struggle to find too many regrets inside the ropes, despite all the hoo-ha surrounding the league’s future, described by Ripper GC general manager Nick Adams earlier this week as a classic case of “catastrophising” by the media.
What comes next, though, is where it gets interesting.
In the wake of a The Wall Street Journal report confirming Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will step away from funding LIV Golf from 2027 onwards, the sport finds itself back in familiar territory. Speculation. Noise. Half-truths. Strategic leaks. And not a lot of formal clarity from LIV Golf itself, which, in fairness, is very on brand.
Depending on your choice of news outlet, LIV Golf is dead and buried… game over… good night, Irene. But beneath the chatter, there are some genuine signals emerging. And if you read between the lines, they point to something less like total collapse and more like opportunity.
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To seek something closer to the truth, we made some calls. Everything that follows is based on trusted sources with sound knowledge of LIV Golf business operations and, predictably, contradicts a lot of what has come out of the mainstream press over the past 48 hours. Some, however, confirmed the bits that were accurate. One of those bits: change is indeed afoot, no question. Significant change. But reports of LIV Golf’s death are greatly exaggerated, at least right now as we write this. America going off a little early in a conflict? Who’da thunk it.
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First thing’s first, despite the headlines, the idea that the Public Investment Fund is suddenly ‘pulling the plug’ is wide of the mark. “Internally, players and staff have been aware for the past couple of weeks that a shift in funding structure was coming,” our source says. Not a shock. No panic stations. More a transition. And on Thursday morning, April 30 – US time – LIV Golf is expected to outline what it’s calling its “strategic path forward”, following a standard Captain’s Call earlier in the week.
Translation? This has been planned. What that plan looks like is where things get genuinely interesting but don’t be surprised if a few big announcements come in relation to the makeup of its board. We’re hearing some heavy hitters are coming in to steady the ship.
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At the centre of LIV’s next phase is a repositioning of the business model. Sources suggest the league is actively exploring a range of strategic opportunities designed to set it up for long term success without relying solely on sovereign backing. That includes potential changes at board level, with expectations that PIF chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan is likely to step away from his position. On the surface, that sounds significant. In reality, it may be exactly what LIV needs. Because for all the disruption LIV has caused on course, its biggest barrier off it has been perception.
The Saudi connection has made certain commercial doors in the US harder to open. It’s a relationship that has been unpalatable for so many in those star-spangled states. Remove or reduce that association, and suddenly the investment conversation changes in a very productive way. In fact, we’ve been told LIV is already in discussions with prospective global investors. Time will tell on that front but to dismiss these claims or refute the potential size of their input would be foolish. There is big money out there. For context, take the Australian superannuation industry as a ‘tiny’ example of growing the pot. The total assets under management on our shores alone reached $4.5 trillion last year. That’s TRILLION… with a ‘T’. Other financial institutions and tech giants across the globe would have similar capabilities if an international golf league appealed to their target audience.
For years, LIV has been trying to build a franchise model in a sport that has never really embraced one. Teams with identities. Equity. Long-term value. The concept has always made sense on paper. The challenge has been convincing traditional golf stakeholders, and commercial partners, that it has substance beyond the initial wave of capital.
Now, LIV appears ready to double down. Sources indicate a reinforced investment-based model, built around both team and league level ownership opportunities. In simple terms, LIV is trying to become less like a start-up and more like a sport.
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Through all of this, one element remains non-negotiable: team golf. For all the criticism LIV has copped, its team format has resonated with newer audiences in a way traditional golf hasn’t always managed. It’s faster, more social and, crucially, easier to follow for fans who didn’t grow up with the game. We’ve been told that conviction isn’t wavering. If anything, it’s set to become the cornerstone of the next phase.
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It’s the one question everyone keeps coming back to: if the money goes, do the players stay? Will they head back to the PGA Tour? The DP World Tour? Will we finally see reunification?
The answer, at least right now, is not as dramatic as some might expect – or want if you happened to be aligned with a particular tour.
“Why would I want to go back?” one LIV star told Australian Golf Digest recently. “I’ve got a happy caddie and a very happy family at home.”
It’s a telling quote because it highlights something that often gets lost in the financial debate and largely US-driven narrative. For many LIV players, this isn’t just about money anymore, as silly as that may sound. But when your career earnings soar into the tens of millions of dollars, another $10 million isn’t the deal breaker it once was. It’s about lifestyle. Fewer events (a schedule likely to be reduced even more in 2027 if our sources are on the money), more control, team equity and time at home (particularly if you’re not American). Even if the economics shift, the broader value proposition still holds.
MORE: Report: Head of LIV Golf Yasir Al-Rumayyan is stepping down as league’s future in doubt
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If LIV does enter a new era, Australia becomes even more important. Make no mistake about it, the success of LIV Golf Adelaide hasn’t just been a win for the league, it’s been proof of concept. Big crowds. Younger fans. Genuine energy. It’s everything LIV has been trying to manufacture elsewhere, delivered organically in a sports-mad, golf-starved region. That puts enormous weight on teams like Ripper GC and the Australian market more broadly. If LIV is looking to convince new investors, Adelaide remains the pitch deck, with a very convincing slide on South Africa included.
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Strip everything back, and this moment feels less like an ending and more like a handover, but that language doesn’t serve the best interests of some. The Public Investment Fund got LIV off the ground. It disrupted the sport with its bottomless pit of gold and forced change. Now the question is whether LIV can stand on its own. Can it attract private capital? Can it build real franchise value (according to our sources, 11 of the 13 teams will be profitable this year)? Can it move from being “funded” to being truly viable? Those are very different challenges but they are also the challenges every new sporting league eventually faces. And, if LIV can navigate them, it might finally become what it always claimed to be. Not a disruptor but a legitimate alternative that still has some life left in it yet.
