LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil acknowledged on Wednesday that the league faces “a very compressed timeline” to finalise a deal with a new lead investor, and any agreement will depend on securing support from a majority of the existing player roster.
O’Neil was speaking to reporters ahead of LIV Golf Indianapolis, which now serves as the final event of the campaign after organisers cancelled the LIV Golf Team Championship in Michigan amid financial pressure.
With the Saudi Public Investment Fund pulling its financial backing following the conclusion of this season, LIV faces an uncertain future that could potentially lead to bankruptcy, with suppliers and players stating they are still waiting for outstanding payments.
Following a lengthy opening statement where he maintained LIV wanted to “move forward” and “complete, not compete” within the wider sport, O’Neil addressed questions regarding recent league developments, including reports of a new lead investor to fund operations between 2027 and 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, head of the investment group BC Partners, is reportedly the prospective lead investor who has agreed a term sheet with LIV. However, that prospective financing remains conditional on how many top players agree to stay with the league for 2027 and beyond, a detail O’Neil largely confirmed on Wednesday.
“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.”
O’Neil added that a deadline exists to secure player commitment to the arrangement, though he declined to elaborate on its timeframe or nature.
“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 succeeded Greg Norman as chief executive in early 2025, pledged to “do right by” contractors and vendors suing the league over unpaid bills.
“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,” O’Neil said. “We’ve taken a real disciplined look at the cost side of the business. …
“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 — who has won three consecutive individual titles since his high-profile move to LIV in 2024 — is reportedly considering a return to the PGA Tour and remains owed over $100 million by the organisation.
However, Bryson DeChambeau remains fully committed to ensuring LIV’s survival. BC Partners holds a stake in DeChambeau’s management company, GSE, and the American golfer reportedly spearheaded a player meeting during 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 be 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.”
