LIV Golf reaches agreement with lead investor for its next era

BEDMINSTER, N.J. – LIV Golf has an agreement in place with a lead investor, signed by the investor and approved by the board, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil announced Wednesday.

O’Neil said the lead investor will “carry and fund” the league as it transitions into its next era starting in 2027.

“This is a moment that we’re very happy about, that we’re thrilled to announce, that we’re proud to be a part of,” O’Neil said on the eve of Thursday’s opening round of LIV Golf New York. “It’s certainly an investor of weight, and we’re all locked in on making it happen.”

Details of the deal, including financial terms, investor identity and specific deadline for finalizing the deal, remain private for now. But with a lead investor in place, O’Neil noted that more than a dozen additional parties have shown “strong interest” in serving as minority investors. “We don’t need them, but we have the opportunity to do it,” he said.

Asked to confirm that the 2027 season will be played once the lead investor agreement is finalized, O’Neil responded with an affirmative, then added: “And ’28 and ’29 and ’30.” The league is focused on a 10-tournament schedule that will include five team majors around the globe and five signature events, including a number of events throughout the U.S.

In addition, O’Neil confirmed that LIV Golf 2.0 will provide players the opportunity to become majority equity holders of the league, which launched in 2022 and is entering the final stretch of its fifth season. This week’s tournament at Trump National Bedminster is the 11th of a 2026 season that has included stops in 10 different countries across five continents.

“It’s a really exciting day,” O’Neil said. “The chance to get to steward a league where it’s majority-owned by players, which has never been done before in the history of sports, is more than special.”

O’Neil informed the players of the lead investor development during a meeting on Tuesday. A players-only meeting immediately followed, with members from each of the league’s 13 teams present.

“I wasn’t in there, but all I can say is that we have a collection of incredible human beings playing in LIV Golf, and a lot of them are terrific leaders,” O’Neil said. “From what I’ve heard and understand, it was a really robust conversation with a lot of players. At least from my perspective, couldn’t have had a more positive impact.

“The more I think players can talk and communicate and collaborate and get together, the better. This has historically been a chronically individual sport, and I think this notion of pulling players together in teams may foster a different type of collaboration than has been seen in golf before, but very supportive of what happened and where we’re heading.”

LIV Golf initially announced its strategic evolution on April 30 that included new board appointments and a focus to secure long-term financial partners to support its transition from a foundational launch phase to a diversified, multi-partner investment model.

Meanwhile, the league has remained intent on delivering its unique brand of professional golf, with concurrent individual and team competitions at each regular-season tournament, along with family-friendly fan villages and post-round entertainment. The league seeks to grow the game around the world and attract a younger, energetic fan base while also working within the sport’s ecosystem.

Finding a lead investor was key to building on those goals.

“I look at what we do and how we do it and why we do it. It’s like, can we attract this next generation of fans in a different way?” O’Neil asked. “Not in a way that dismisses the incredible things that are happening on other tours around the world because they’re all doing really, really well at what they’re doing. Our audience is a bit different and very additive and very incremental.

“As we go through this next phase, this next five years, I’m very much looking forward to an era of opening, an era of free agency for our players, an era of cooperation, and era where we work together with the tours to make sure that there’s quite an incredible future for the game of golf, and that the pipeline of fans that we’re building and driving that can be additive around the world to all the tours.”