Report: Some LIV players threatening to sit out over back pay; CEO reaffirms commitment to tour

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - APRIL 15: LIV Golf signage is seen prior to LIV Golf Mexico City at Club de Golf Chapultepec on April 15, 2026 in Mexico City. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

(Hector Vivas via Getty Images)

The question of whether LIV Golf will endure as a professional tour — or whether it will even survive the weekend — continues to dominate the golf world. Throughout the day on Wednesday, multiple outlets reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is potentially withdrawing its investment in the breakaway tour. Late in the afternoon, Golf Channel reported that some players have threatened not to play in the first round of this week’s Mexico City event over non-payment of monies earned in the first quarter of 2026.

The messaging continues to be mixed coming out of LIV corners. Earlier Wednesday, Sergio Garcia told assembled media that “sincerely we haven’t heard anything” regarding any possible shutdown of LIV operations. Garcia is the only individual on any side of the story to go on record with a statement; all others have been on background or via anonymous sources. (Yahoo Sports has reached out to multiple LIV Golf sources and received no response.)

LIV Golf, which began in 2022 with a seismic splash, briefly upended the entire golf world. Many of golf’s top stars, including Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson left the PGA Tour for LIV’s massive paychecks.

But LIV has never been able to command significant viewing audiences through three-plus seasons. While some of its on-the-ground efforts are successful, including events in South Africa and Australia, the entity as a whole has lost significant sums of Saudi Arabia’s money. As the PIF looks to realign its economic and strategic goals, LIV Golf may simply be a cost the sovereign fund is no longer willing to carry.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported that LIV CEO Scott O’Neil sent an email to staff that included the following paragraphs:

“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle. While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before,” O’Neil wrote.

“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure. We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”

The LIV Golf Mexico City event is scheduled to begin at 3:15 p.m. ET on Thursday.