LIV is negotiating new contracts with some of its players and aiming for an open ecosystem, while the PGA Tour is pushing for the end of LIV in its current form as part of any potential deal.
The first tournament from Saudi-backed LIV Golf Ltd. teed off more than three and a half years ago at a country club in North London. The winner would bank $4.75 million, the largest payday in pro golf history. Traffic signs warned of throngs of fans clogging the roads.
In the end, just a few thousand spectators turned up for the start of the petrodollar-fueled assault on the golf establishment. That same week, in Toronto, superstar Rory McIlroy won the PGA Tour's RBC Canadian Open, earning $1.5 million in front of about 132,000 attendees.
It was a sign of things to come. LIV, which hatched an audacious plan to create a top pro golf league by offering celebrated players rich contracts, never caught fire with fans. And the PGA Tour, after a bare-knuckle fight against the upstart, eventually regained its footing.
Now, after spending close to $5 billion, it's LIV that's fighting to stay relevant.
Weeks away from the opening of LIV's fifth season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the league is grappling with low attendance, lackluster TV viewership and the departure of a star golfer it paid handsomely. Forging a truce with the PGA Tour has become a top priority for 2026, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be identified speaking about private information.
LIV's Saudi backers are keen for the league to continue in some form, especially after sinking so much money into it, but are unwilling to keep funding the competition indefinitely if it keeps up its rate of losses, according to people with direct knowledge of the strategy of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
The PGA Tour isn't sitting still. LIV players had been banned from PGA Tour events, but on Jan. 12, the US-based circuit sent out a memo unveiling its new Returning Member Program, which would allow a few elite defectors to come back.
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who left LIV in December, has recently applied for membership -- though he'd be subject to financial penaltiesBloomberg Terminal, including curbs on his ability to receive PGA Tour equity grants and FedEx Cup bonus money in 2026, according to the Associated Press. Other players eligible for the return program include Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith.
LIV is negotiating new contracts with some of its players. It said in a statement that it is aiming for "an open ecosystem" for all golfers, "not just a limited few."
While LIV fights to turn a profit, the PGA Tour is looking to consolidate its power. It has revamped its management, increased sponsorships and received backing from the Strategic Sports Group, a collection of US sports-obsessed billionaires including New York Mets owner Steven Cohen and John Henry, the principal owner of Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club.
The Tour is also looking to improve its relationships with Washington and President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.
The PGA Tour and its US investors haven't ruled out Saudi investment in PGA Tour Enterprises, the Tour's commercial arm, but are pushing for the end of LIV in its current form as part of any potential deal, according to people familiar with the matter.
A PGA Tour spokesperson said the circuit has new leadership, new investors and a new equity program that gives players a major stake in how the Tour is run.
A spokesperson for the Saudi Public Investment Fund declined to comment.
Over the past year, LIV has been undergoing a major revamp, attempting to become less a rebel league and more a legitimate tournament with new broadcasters and sponsors. There is a lot of ground to make up. Last year, LIV's most-watched broadcast, the final round of an April event in Miami, drew 484,000 viewers on Fox Sports. By comparison, only three PGA Tour events failed to break the million-viewer mark in the US.
LIV has signed deals that are expected to produce $500 million in new revenue with companies including Saudi Arabian Oil Co., as well as partnerships with HSBC Holdings Plc, MGM Resorts International and Salesforce Inc., LIV Golf League Chief Executive Officer Scott O'Neil said at a conference last year. Last week, LIV secured a media-rights deal with TNT Sports.
The league is also banking on a new group of stars including Victor Perez and Laurie Canter, as well as onetime PGA Tour phenom Anthony Kim.
Yet the biggest change is an overhaul of the league's format. LIV took its name from the Roman numerals for 54 -- the number of holes played in its events, as opposed to the traditional 72 in PGA Tour tournaments. But this year, it is switching to 72 holes, in a bid to make it so players can qualify for official world golf ranking points, which the 54-hole format had precluded.
Ranking points are essential for players to qualify for the so-called majors, the sport's flagship competitions, which aren't run by a single tour. LIV is awaiting a decision from Official World Golf Ranking's governing board on its latest application. A previous application in 2023 was denied.
"They've now switched from 54 holes to 72 holes to get world ranking points, so it's like, you're just doing what everyone else is doing," McIlroy said in January. "So, what's different, you know apart from the money?"
The PGA Tour has also made big changes. Historically, players only earned substantial income from high-ranking finishes, receiving no compensation if they missed a cut. LIV guarantees its players a salary on top of any prize money they win.
In 2023, the PGA Tour set up a $100 million pool to reward players who "generate the most positive interest in the tour." Then, in 2024, it gave players equity in PGA Tour Enterprises. Koepka, who reportedly has been paid more than $100 million by LIV, is missing out on an estimated $50 million to $85 million in both winnings and equity, according to Tour officials.
PGA Tour Enterprises began with an initial $1.5 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group. Players receive grants based on their tenure and championship records that vest over time -- providing them with an incentive to stay.
With support from SSG, the PGA Tour has boosted its prize money. It also signed sponsorship deals with three dozen partners worth more than $1 billion last year. Additionally, it agreed to a seven-year, $200 million-plus contract with Truist Financial Corp., announced in August 2024; pacts with Genesis and Cadillac; secured long-term extensions with sponsors 3M Co. and Valspar.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is leaving his post this year. Monahan was criticized by players after secretly reaching an agreement in June 2023 with PIF to potentially invest in PGA Tour Enterprises—a year after PGA Tour banned golfers who had teed up at LIV Golf tournaments.
New PGA Tour Chief Executive Brian Rolapp—who now runs day-to-day operations—has taken control of the tour and has been well-received by players.
One of Rolapp's priorities has been to build bridges with Washington. Access to Trump was once seen as LIV's ace card. Yasir Al-Rumayyan—the governor of the Public Investment Fund—has regularly golfed with Trump—who has said it would take him "the better part of 15 minutes" to fix the PGA Tour-LIV rift.
The Tour is ramping up its influence efforts after a lull—meeting with a legion of lobbyists—according to people familiar with the matter.
Some argue that the PGA Tour's current strong position is a result of attrition—after prolonged negotiations with the Saudis failed to produce a detente and LIV Golf continued to lose money. Although senior figures from both the Tour and LIV Golf were privately suggesting a deal was imminent at the end of 2024 discussions stalled.
The PGA Tour PIF and LIV Golf struggled to structure an agreement that could withstand ongoing Justice Department antitrust review began during Biden administration. The DOJ declined to comment.
In the meantime attention is turning back to fairway. Rahm DeChambeau and Smith have all hinted that they plan to remain with LIV.