LIV Golf has 46 days between the end of a tournament in Spain and the next one in England, and it could be the most important stretch of the season for CEO Scott O’Neil.
The league is reeling from the decision by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to stop paying for it at the end of year, having already spent some $6 billion since its June 2022 launch.
O’Neil is pushing “LIV 2.0” and seeking some $300 million from outside investors to keep the league going in 2027 and beyond. He appeared Tuesday on CNBC and said he has received a positive response from the initial push.
“I’ve had five meetings, formal meetings, so far,” O’Neil said. “I’ve got 18 more meetings this week and about the same next week. What’s been really interesting is how do you slice this? Is there one partner that comes in, maybe a big private equity firm, at the full $300 (million), or do you have 10 or 12 investors at $50 and $25 million units?”
But O’Neil said there was one element as critical as the money itself.
“What we don’t have is a lot of time,” he said. “So we’re very urgently out there talking to those who are interested. We like the pool, but we have to get this done through the summer.”
The long break — created when a new event in New Orleans was postponed — has generated speculation whether LIV would be funded through the year. O’Neil was asked if he could guarantee the last four events would be played.
“What I can guarantee is a heck of a return if you come invest in this business,” he said.
The PGA Tour has not offered any insight into a potential return of any LIV player, perhaps the most attractive being Jon Rahm, because they are still under contract.
O’Neil made it clear that private funding would be for a league that operates much differently than it does now, referring to a “financially disciplined business model.”
“We’re cutting the expense side dramatically, and the revenue momentum that we’ve had … we’re already up $100 million over last year, so we have really good business momentum. This is about getting the costs under control, reimagining what the business could, should and will look like, and then engaging our players as partners, like true equity partners in this business.”
He predicted it would take three years to reach profitability.
Alternate spots can be valuable for US Open
Adam Svensson was part of an 8-for-3 playoff in the Canada qualifier for the U.S. Open, and it was down to one spot left among three players on the third extra hole. It went to Max McGreevy, who made birdie.
Svensson, perhaps by habit, picked up his ball marker without realizing he and Matt Wallace still had to play it out to see who was first alternate. Svensson didn’t have a tap-in for par, but he was out when he picked up his marker.
Whether it comes back to haunt him remains to be seen. But it was a reminder that while losing out on a U.S. Open is discouraging, the alternate spots should not be taken lightly.
The USGA held back seven spots to fill the 156-man field for those who move into the top 60 after this week — J.T. Poston is a lock, while Eric Cole, Matt Wallace, Bud Cauley and Jordan Smith have a chance — and anyone who wins a second PGA Tour title since the last U.S. Open.
The USGA does not publicize its formula for ranking alternates. But if anyone withdraws who had qualified, the alternate comes from that site.
Consider last year. Chase Johnson and Cole were the first and second alternates out of the Columbus, Ohio, qualifier. Both of them got into the field because two players who qualified from that site — Cauley and Cameron Young — got in through the world ranking.
The priority list for alternates is based on a formula that considers strength of field for each site and how many spots those sites had been awarded. First alternates include Brandt Snedeker (Springfield, Ohio).
PGA Tour gets involved in Australian Open
The PGA Tour for the first time is getting involved with the Australian Open, the fifth-oldest championship in golf and a championship that years ago was looked upon as having the potential to be a fifth major.
The nature of that involvement has not been announced, though it likely would create spots for PGA Tour players who want to compete.
Golf Australia announced Tuesday a new agreement in which the European tour and PGA Tour of Australasia will co-sanction the tournament, to be played in December at revered Kingston Heath. Rory McIlroy plans to be in the field.
Golf Australia said the PGA Tour involvement in the Capital.com Australian Open was “set to ensure” a significant boost in prize money, a good spot on the global golf calendar and a chance to attract the world’s best players. More details were to be announced at the December tournament.
“Our ambition is clear. We want the men’s Capital.com Australian Open to be recognized among the top 10 most prestigious golf tournaments globally, and everything we are doing for the event flows from that ambition,” said James Sutherland, the CEO of Golf Australia.
The Australian Open was a popular destination in the 1960s and 1970s, with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player each winning six times during that stretch, and additional winners including Arnold Palmer and Peter Thomson. It was looked upon as a global major even when the Presidents Cup was staged at Royal Melbourne in 1998.
Jim Furyk is back in the television booth
Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk is returning to the broadcast booth for the U.S. Open and beyond.
Furyk, whose lone major title came at the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields, will be at Shinnecock Hills as an analyst for USA Sports and will work the remainder of the year on telecasts of Golf Channel and USA Network.
He also will be the analyst for USA Network for the British Open at Royal Birkdale. Kevin Kisner is the lead analyst for those majors when they are on NBC.
Two other events on Golf Channel that will feature Furyk as the analyst are personal to him. One is the Travelers Championship, where in 2016 he set the PGA Tour record with a 58. The other is the Tour Championship, which he won in 2010 to claim the FedEx Cup.
Furyk made his television debut earlier this year for Golf Channel at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.
Divots
Russell Knox took a break from the Korn Ferry Tour last week to caddie for his 16-year-old niece, Sofia Rivera, who qualified for her first U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. She had rounds of 75-74 and missed the cut. … Bernhard Langer is the 2027 Memorial honoree, the first time the Captain’s Club at Muirfield Village has selected an active player since Tom Watson in 2012. … The PGA of America has hired Jeff Clennon as its chief commercial officer and Paul Stephens as its chief financial officer. … The Ryder Cup is taking a page from the British Open by offering tents for spectators just outside the gates at Adare Manor for the 2027 matches. The tents can go for as little as 151 euros ($175) a night. … Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles has finished a course restoration project and will be back on the LPGA schedule next year as host of the JM Eagle Championship.
Stat of the week
Nelly Korda has won $5,386,790 in eight tournaments this year. Her average earnings of $673,349 would put her 20th on the LPGA money list.
Final word
“It’s the most tired I am of the four majors.” — Xander Schauffele on playing the U.S. Open.
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