LIV Golf has remained in the discussion, especially for the lucrative deals and impressive prize money that go beyond $4 million for the winners.

Now, the LIV Golf CEO, Scott O’Neil, has confirmed a significant rise in the prize money for the upcoming season. 

Previously, the Saudi-backed league had a $25 million purse for each of its 13 regular-season events. Out of this, $20 million went into individual competition, and another $5 for the team competition. This money was split between 54 players, ranging from $50,000 to well above $4 million. 

Since July 2025, the golf community has been talking about an increase in the prize money from $25 million to $30 million for the 2026 season.

The extra money was intended for the team competition. And now, Scott O’Neil confirmed this aspect of prize money during the press conference on 14 January 2026. 

Until now, the top three teams received a portion of the $5 million purse. The number one team received $3 million, the one on second position bagged $1.5 million, and the third team was left with $500,000. But now, the team purse of $8 million will be distributed among all 13 teams. And the remaining $22 million will go to individuals.

Despite the already lucrative purse for LIV Golf, it’s Scottie Scheffler, the #1 golfer on the PGA Tour, who earned the most money in 2025 ($49.5 million). LIV Golf’s Jon Rahm was only second to him with total earnings of $38.7 million in the last season.

If we put the top 10 highest earners in golf for the 2025 season, seven golfers compete on the PGA Tour. 

But that aspect of LIV Golf might change in the upcoming season. And it’ll come along with a few other changes. 

Scott O’Neil Confirms Few Changes for LIV Golf in 2026 Season

As the Saudi-backed league pursues a stronger stance in the Official World Golf Ranking, O’Neil confirmed that there’ll be a few changes at the top and bottom of the league’s season-long standings. 

He said, “You’ll see an expanded Lock Zone [and] an expanded Drop Zone this year, which, as we’re working towards world ranking points, there’s some shifts you’ll see in ’26 that I think help our case and continue to give us more hope that that comes through.”

Additionally, USGA and R&A will also come together to lay out some ground rules for the league. And the announcement will come pretty soon. 

“We remade our rules committee this year, and several rules officials will be new. Some of this stuff just comes directly from feedback from our players,” the LIV Golf CEO confirmed. 

With richer purses and structural tweaks, LIV Golf raises pressure on the PGA Tour to respond competitively in the 2026 season. 

Written by

Krushna Pattnaik

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu