The first domino has fallen in LIV Golf's impending demise

Two weeks after LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil claimed the 2026 season would continue "uninterrupted and at full throttle," the Saudi-backed golf league ran into an unintended red light. According to Brody Miller of The Athletic, LIV Golf's tournament in New Orleans, LA., which was scheduled for June 25-28 at Bayou Oaks at City Park, will be postponed. 

The damaging news comes amid numerous reports and rumors stating that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is on the verge of pulling its funding for the LIV Golf League. PIF has spent more than $5 billion on the rival golf tour since its inception in 2022, but the financial returns haven't been nearly as lucrative. 

With word of LIV Golf's demise spreading like wildfire, O'Neil recently sent an email to his staff and players assuring them that the future of the league is still bright.

"I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle," O'Neil wrote in the email, per ESPN. "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."

Unfortunately for O'Neil and LIV Golf, the recent news coming from the upstart league doesn't echo those optimistic words. 

Louisiana to postpone LIV Golf event