LIV Golf Postpones New Orleans Tournament Amid Shutdown Speculation

Topline

LIV Golf, the major competitor to the PGA Tour, is postponing its New Orleans event scheduled for June, according to multiple reports, pushing back the competition as the golf league will reportedly have its funding slashed by its Saudi Arabian owners.

LIV Golf may announce the postponement on Tuesday. (Photo by Lauren Sopourn/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development Susan Bourgeois and LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil spoke last week and agreed to push the June 25 event back due to LIV Golf’s changing business model, The Athletic reported, citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the conversation.

The event was slated to take place at City Park’s Bayou Oaks golf course and will potentially change to a smaller venue in the fall, according to The Times-Picayune.

LIV will return $1 million in cash it already had received from the state of Louisiana under an incentive package, the newspaper added.

The postponement may be officially announced Tuesday, The Athletic reported, noting Louisiana was set to spend about $7 million in state funds to put on the New Orleans event.

Forbes has reached out to LIV Golf for comment.

Crucial Quote

“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil said a few weeks ago in an internal memo to staff as speculation swirled around funding cuts to LIV Golf.

Key Background

LIV Golf, which has become a PGA competitor by poaching players like Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson with lucrative guaranteed contracts, is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. In 2024, LIV Golf spent $1 billion on guaranteed payouts for its top players, according to Forbes. A report from the Financial Times earlier this month said the league’s Saudi owners were considering funding cuts, tacking on to rumors the league might shut down completely. The league is considering new strategies to restructure its spending, the Financial Times added. Reports of internal struggles come after top talent like Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed departed LIV Golf for the PGA Tour last year.