LIV Golf has never banned its players from competing elsewhere, and now, with the tour's future under the microscope, CEO Scott O'Neil is making that point loudly.

Speaking Tuesday at Trump National D.C. before LIV Golf Virginia, Scott O'Neil addressed whether LIV players can compete on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour outside their commitments.

"We have never, since our inception, ever restricted our players," O'Neil said. "Go play where you want to play. We believe in free agency of golf. We believe players should play when they want and where they want, as long as they sign up for these 14."

The 14 refers to LIV's mandatory events, leaving players free for the remaining 38 weeks of the year.

"Fans know who's going to show up every week, and that's quite an advantage," O'Neil said. "And I imagine you'll see some shifts in the ecosystem, towards more closer to that model."

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said it will stop funding LIV Golf after this season, after spending over $5 billion since 2022, with nearly $1.36 billion paid in prize money.

O'Neil became LIV Golf’s CEO in January 2025 after replacing Greg Norman, and said his focus is right-sizing and stabilizing the business, including hiring Ducera Partners and adding two corporate restructuring experts to the board.

"We are going to create a business plan," O'Neil said. "We will go to market and raise money on the league level, and then we will go and get investors in teams, in that order."

Selling those teams is now central to LIV's plan for survival beyond this year.

Scott O’Neil Has a Plan to Sell LIV’s 13 Franchises

LIV Golf planned to sell its 13 teams, each valued at $300 million, with the league holding 75% and captains like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm owning 25%, but no deals have been completed yet despite work with Citi’s sports advisory group.

"If you ask me where the value of this business is, it's in the teams," O'Neil said. "We believe that teams will have extraordinary value once we set the business in the right direction."

Jon Rahm, the two-time major winner leading the LIV Golf standings, said the PIF news was "unexpected" but stopped short of mapping out an exit plan.

"As of right now, I'm not really thinking about it since we still have a season to play and majors to compete for," Rahm said.

DeChambeau had already addressed focusing on his YouTube channel if LIV fails.

O'Neil still looked confident in public, even though he did not give many clear answers on Tuesday about possible cuts in prize money or current player contracts.

"I feel like we have a clear path to a win," he said.

Follow Club Golf for more.

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav