CEO Scott O’Neil says it’s not time to bid adieu to LIV Golf just yet.
ABDULLAH AHMED, GETTY IMAGES
It was a turbulent week for LIV Golf, to say the least.
Following multiple reports last Wednesday that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would discontinue its funding of the breakaway league, leading to speculation that it could cease operations imminently on the eve of its event in Mexico City, CEO Scott O’Neil launched a damage-control offensive, telling staff and players in an email that LIV’s 2026 season would continue “exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle.”
In a broadcast interview on Thursday, however, O’Neil acknowledged that the league would only be funded through the rest of this season. “The reality is you’re funded through the season and then you work like crazy as a business to create a business and a business plan to keep us going,” O'Neil said. “But that’s not different from any other private equity-funded business in the history of man.”
The Mexico City tournament went on as planned, though its Thursday first-round broadcast on Fox Sports was interrupted for more than 100 minutes by a technical issue. The same day, LIV Golf entities and the Saudi Arabia PIF were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed in London’s Commercial Court by Premier Golf League and its parent company, World Golf Group Ltd., which had pursued the idea of a high-stakes team golf league with big-name players before LIV Golf existed. READ MORE
“I know what I did isn’t the best way of me doing things. But look, I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m trying my best to control the emotions.”
Robert MacIntyre, commenting to Sky Sports on his behavior during the first round of the Masters, when he made an obscene gesture toward the 15th green after hitting his second shot into the water.
KEVIN C. COX, GETTY IMAGES
NBC Sports golf analyst Kevin Kisner issued an apology Thursday for a post-Masters podcast rant that criticized CBS Sports’ broadcast of the year’s first major.
Kisner’s profanity-sprinkled comments on Barstool Sports’ Fore Play podcast took issue with what he characterized as CBS’ consistent failure to show live shots. “Whatever we all watch has already happened seven minutes ago,” he said in part.
Come Thursday, Kisner was contrite.
“I just have to apologize to the golf team at CBS,” he said. “I crossed the line, probably too much, by talking about that whole content. And I know from my short time in the business how wild production is, right? It is a very difficult thing to produce a live show and make it all work and everybody does their best.” READ MORE
Scottie Scheffler received another accolade last Wednesday when he was included on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2026. Tony Romo, the CBS Sports football analyst and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, saluted Scheffler in the magazine’s writeup.
“His faith is a strong component of why I believe he’s as great a player as he is,” Romo wrote. “There’s a gift in that. It allows him to be freed up in high-pressure situations. He has a strong will and full belief in himself when he steps over a shot. We play a lot of golf together, and his commitment to his craft – and his love of the game – is impressive.”
Discussing the distinction with reporters following his opening round at the RBC Heritage, Scheffler was characteristically humble.
“I’d much rather try to be a positive influence than a negative one,” he said. “... I dreamed of growing up and being a professional golfer, and being able to achieve my dreams, I’m very fortunate to have been able to do that, but at the end of the day, like I said at the Open last year, that’s not what satisfies me. If I can be a positive influence on someone’s life, that’s a great thing. But at the end of the day, I don’t know if I’m the best role model.” READ MORE
Tap-Ins
Bryson DeChambeau withdrew before the final round of the LIV Golf Mexico City event, citing a wrist injury. DeChambeau was 2-over par through three rounds at Chapultepec Golf Club, 16 strokes behind leader Jon Rahm.
Michelle Wie West, who announced late last month that she would come out of retirement to compete in the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open, will play in the LPGA’s Mizuho Americas Open next month as a warm-up, she said last Tuesday. READ MORE
Tiger Woods’ attorney has requested a hearing to determine whether prosecutors in his Florida DUI case can subpoena Woods’ prescription drug records. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity
