O\u2019Neil was in a cheery mood while saying he has an investor he declined to identify offering an amount he declined to reveal. The term sheet is signed with a goal of closing the deal next month, and in a situation the LIV CEO described as \u201cvery fluid,\u201d two things are clear:<\/p>\n
1) A lot of unnerving developments can occur in the \u201cvery fluid\u201d days between now and September.<\/p>\n
2) This new benefactor won\u2019t remotely approach the fantasy-golf funding of Saudi Arabia\u2019s trillion-dollar Public Investment Fund, which, by bailing on LIV<\/a> in the spring, reminded the world there are only so many billions the nation is willing to waste on a sportswashing whim that was never going to fly.<\/p>\n How is PIF’s investment in LIV Golf different to Newcastle?<\/p>\n Matt Slater<\/p>\n LIV Golf declared a small victory at Bedminster, and yet the fight was officially lost the day the PIF went poof. It\u2019s hard to believe that three years ago, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan (who eventually went poof, too) and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan\u00a0appeared on CNBC to announce a shocking merger (including the DP World Tour) that felt more like a surrender.<\/p>\n The PGA Tour conceded it couldn\u2019t win a financial arms race against a determined opponent with seemingly unlimited funds. After shamelessly weaponizing the grief of 9\/11 families, Monahan showed the tour\u2019s real issue with LIV \u2014 it merely feared the competition \u2014 and tried cutting his own deal with the Saudis.<\/p>\n But that agreement was never consummated, allowing the PGA Tour to find more agreeable partners in the Sports Strategic Group<\/a>, which committed an investment of up to $3 billion that created the for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises and made LIV a lot less necessary.<\/p>\n O\u2019Neil, who replaced Greg Norman 19 months ago, is now the last man standing between LIV\u2019s borderline irrelevance and outright extinction. Wednesday, he claimed he wasn\u2019t done throwing punches.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a really exciting day,\u201d he said. \u201cThe chance to get to steward a league where it\u2019s majority-owned by players, which has never been done before in the history of sports, is more than special.\u201d<\/p>\n Equity offers in a floundering business aren\u2019t often attractive to megastars who were only initially lured by guaranteed nine-figure contracts, and two of those stars, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, are must-have assets for LIV to survive in any meaningful form. Rahm is owed a ton of cash, and the Financial Times<\/a> reported that PIF is considering paying off contracts at a discount. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n DeChambeau? He is about to become golf\u2019s first LeBron \u2014 a free agent worthy of a frenzy. DeChambeau\u2019s people can market his choice between LIV, a return to the PGA Tour and life as a full-time content creator.<\/p>\n Back when he ran Madison Square Garden, O\u2019Neil was a major part of the Knicks\u2019 presentation team that met with King James in Cleveland and, among other things, tried selling him on the idea that he would earn hundreds of millions more off the court in New York than anywhere else. O\u2019Neil had a second meeting with current Knicks president Leon Rose, then LeBron\u2019s agent, in an attempt to improve New York\u2019s long-shot bid. It failed.<\/p>\n O\u2019Neil can\u2019t afford to fail with DeChambeau, or it\u2019s lights out. As it stands right now, LIV has a major footprint in Australia and South Africa, a relatively healthy presence in the United Kingdom (50,000 on-site fans watched Herbert shoot 30-under at LIV Golf UK with DeChambeau in the mix), and a tiny one in the United States that will become all but invisible if DeChambeau bolts.<\/p>\n Asked about the importance of retaining DeChambeau and Rahm, O\u2019Neil said, \u201cI think I\u2019d be remiss in saying that they\u2019re not only two of the biggest, best golfers on the planet, but I think they\u2019re some of the biggest stars in sports, let alone golf. Would certainly love them to come along for the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Bryson DeChambeau remains LIV\u2019s biggest draw, but for how much longer? (Jan Kruger \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n In the end, there is no need to root for LIV\u2019s demise, especially since the moral argument against it \u2014 the Saudi backing \u2014 is now out of the picture. If the league is reduced to a parade of fading 40-somethings who want to play 10 team-centric events a season while bouncing from continent to continent, what\u2019s the harm in that? More golf is better than less golf on a grow-the-game level.<\/p>\n![\"Bryson](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287607273-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n