guaranteed contracts to top players<\/a> on the backs of its seemingly unlimited coffers. As the season has worn on, it has called off tournaments, slashed payouts and faced claims from unpaid vendors such as Fresh Tape.<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re doing everything we can to make sure we can do right by them and the work they committed,\u201d LIV chief executive Scott O\u2019Neil said of the Fresh Tape lawsuit. \u201cI hope we can.\u201d Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund had ploughed more than $5 billion into LIV before pulling out in April, at which point O\u2019Neil wrote to staff that its season would continue \u201cexactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle.\u201d But later that month, a tournament scheduled in New Orleans for late June was postponed, with LIV saying at the time it wanted to avoid peak summer heat in Louisiana. The event was never rescheduled.<\/p>\n
That wasn\u2019t the only tournament to be axed. The team finale, LIV\u2019s signature event, had been scheduled to tee off in Michigan later this month. LIV acknowledged this week that it would no longer be played.<\/p>\n
Instead, this week\u2019s tournament at Chatham Hills in Indiana was turned into the season finale with reduced prize money. The purse for the individual competition is just $10.1 million, down from $20 million at the previous tournament. The team event has $30 million on the line, down from the $40 million that was supposed to be offered in Michigan. Additionally, players weren\u2019t paid for the previous tournament, which took place earlier this month at Trump Bedminster, until this week, a person familiar with the matter said.<\/p>\n
The money wasn\u2019t the only change in plans. LIV has brought in high-profile musical acts to perform for fans at its tournaments. But the performers billed for Indianapolis, country music singer Thomas Rhett and Disco Lines, a DJ, were abruptly scratched.<\/p>\n
\u201cLIV Golf recognises the disappointment these changes may bring for fans, local stakeholders, Thomas Rhett and Disco Lines, and appreciates the significant time and effort invested by the artists and their teams,\u201d the league said.<\/p>\n
Whether or not LIV survives beyond this weekend, what\u2019s left will bear little resemblance to the free-spending upstart that stormed onto the scene. To keep it afloat in 2027 and beyond, O\u2019Neil has been seeking some $300 million in investment.<\/p>\n
Even if he secures it, the bigger issue is whether the players will buy in. A key part of the new model is players\u2019 owning a majority of the league\u2019s equity, which is a much different financial proposition than the one that brought them to LIV in the first place. Some players, such as two-time major winner Jon Rahm, are on contracts that are supposed to pay out huge sums in coming years. Accepting equity in a money-losing venture instead may not be as appealing.<\/p>\n
The Wall Street Journal <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When LIV Golf hired Fresh Tape Media to produce content such as podcasts and video clips ahead 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