Executives hit the market with LIV Golf 2.0 last week, framing it as “built by the players, for the players.” It has an emphasis on player ownership, an increased schedule utilising national opens, but reduced purses. The schedule consists of 10 team events, and 8-10 national opens, with 5 “team majors” and 5 “team signature events”. The “majors” are to be played on 5 continents in line with the most successful events: Australia, South Africa, UK, Hong Kong and Mexico. And the signature events are to be hosted predominantly in the US, around the 4 major championships. The purse sizes is fluid and dependent on the new investors. From an extensive amount of sourcing, I expect them to be $15 million for 5 events and $10 million for the rest. With a potential weighting that distributes more money at the top of the leaderboard. A well placed LIV Golf source said: “We are very confident future purses will be above DP World Tour levels and player take home will be in line with the PGA Tour.” From sourcing within player ranks, the purse sizes are, obviously, one of the most important factors impacting their commitment. Several players suggested to me if the purses fall in line with the DP World Tour they probably wouldn’t stay. But at $10-$15 million it’s a different proposition. More clarity is needed though on both LIV Golf’s future and the new structure of the PGA Tour to get a better picture. I’ve spoken directly to at least a dozen players who told me they are fully committed to LIV Golf, and if it exists, they will be there. Bryson DeChambeau is leading that charge and it’s understating it to say he’s committed. He desperately wants LIV Golf to succeed and to build a global golf league that’s built for the 21st century. He’s thinking long term and his enthusiasm is truly infectious. But a big question is what will Jon Rahm do? It’s difficult to get any real feel of it as he didn’t do media outside press conferences. But he did answer my question on whether he was taking a similar role to Bryson in trying to secure investment and he replied, “I am not, no.” The full quote is on my timeline. I was told, however, that Jon had encouraged other players to avoid reading the media because of the amount of misinformation. There was also a Legion XIII hospitality area, where the GM, Jeff Koski, was hosting current and potential future partners while offering Imperial Gran Reserva, the Rioja that Jon served at his 2024 Masters Champions Dinner. The players will be given equity in the league itself or team franchises to encourage them to stay, further committing those taking this option to the success of the league’s future. The majority of the media rights will be returned to the players. Giving them the opportunity to build their own online brands on socials and sign personal partnerships. The size of the fields is unclear at this stage, but the shotgun start will continue, so the possibility of adding 2 more expansion teams to take the league to 15 franchises (60 players) would likely be top end. I fully expect them to utilise the Asian Tour pathways to fill many of the open spots, especially if players leave. That would help further appease the OWGR concerns and increase the ability to build their own stars. But sources were also confident they could attract established names with potential equity in the league. Multiple sources indicated that Fox Sports are ready to sign a new deal with LIV Golf as soon as the league is ready. LIV Golf are also working with networks on a potential broadcast model that incorporates TV viewership with YouTube and social media in an attempt to unlock revenue streams across digital IP. I’ve spent several days going back and forth through notes and transcripts, sourcing information the best I can. I think even in these early stages as they take LIV Golf 2.0 to market this is as fair and accurate of a representation as I can offer. Let me know your thoughts in the comments 👍

Bubba Watson has shot rounds of 69, 66 and 69 to lead The International Series Morocco on the Asian Tour after 3 days. If he were to win tomorrow it would be his first victory since the 2018 Travelers. @bubbawatson @intseriesgolf @asiantourgolf

Haotong Li just delivered another electric press conference at the RBC Canadian Open. After a 6 under par 64 today, he spoke about having to deal with the demons in his head: “Once that bad Haotong comes in, you just tell him to go away. Which is what I did today, like, even on the back nine, that guy's there. “I literally just tell that guy, f-- off, leave me alone. I'm sorry about my language, but, that's what it is, yeah.” I’ve met Haotong a few times on the Asian Tour over the last few years and he’s genuinely one of the most authentic personalities on tour. It’s never boring with Haotong 🇨🇳 @PGATOUR @RBCCanadianOpen

Ben James won PGA Tour University rankings to earn PGA Tour membership through the 2027 season. He’s making his professional debut this week and he just shot a bogey free 63 with 5 birdies and an eagle to hold the solo lead. He was asked after the round if he ever thought he’d be in this position on debut: “I didn't even -- yeah, probably not. I wasn't really thinking about really results at all this week. Just worried about getting comfortable, making new friends and having fun, and just seeing where everything kind of falls. Just seeing where my game stacks up. Obviously I have some stuff to work on, just trying to see where everything goes. Because this is just the baseline, it's my first professional debut. Obviously had a great two days, but just trying to get better.” He then was asked how he’s going to sleep on the lead: “I got no clue because I've never been in this position, so I'm very excited to find out. One thing I wanted to do I was, like, let's try and get in that last group. I just want to feel what that feels and kind of just see what happens out there in that situation. Being so young, I'm just excited. I have no expectations. I'm going to play the best I can like I did the last two days.” The PGA Tour University program has been one of the best things that’s happened to professional golf over the last few years. Fast tracking these young talented players to the main stage has been great to watch. Hopefully Ben can keep it going this weekend. @PGATOUR @PGATOURU

Jon Rahm and David Puig got some practice in at Shinnecock yesterday ahead of the US Open next week 🇪🇸 @PuigCorrius

I directly asked multiple LIV Golf execs in Valderrama about whether they’re looking to drop the Shotgun Start and they said they want to keep it. They can mitigate the production costs in other ways. More details on the potential LIV Golf 2.0 below.

20 year old Jackson Koivun, the number 1 amateur in the world, has chosen to forgo his season year at college and turn pro, with his first start scheduled at the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour. Jackson has an incredible resume as an amateur, winning the National Championship twice, the Ben Hogan award twice, and the Fred Haskins award twice. Jackson earned PGA Tour membership via the PGA Tour University program and is fully exempt through the 2027 season. I can’t wait to see how he gets on in the pros! 🔥 x.com/AuburnMGolf/status/206…

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has been meeting investors with the LIV Golf 2.0 pitch deck over the last few days and also making media appearances. In an interview with the AAP, Scott spoke about potential investment from the Australian business community: “We are very tapped in and wired in to the Australian business community and those who might be interested. “Yes, we're having some ongoing dialogue with some prominent Australians.” He went on to say that Cam Smith and his Ripper GC teammates have been up front about their support of the league and suggested the dream scenario for LIV’s new investors would include a global network of ownership: “In fact, because we play on five continents, our dream scenario is to have investment from each of the five continents. "So nothing would make me more happy, more proud of what we do and how we do it, than to have one of our investors come from Australia.” Adelaide has been a highly successful event on the LIV Golf League since 2023. It’s not difficult to see why prominent Australian investors would be looking at the opportunity and Scott would be approaching them. @GolfAustMag @livgolf_league

As posted earlier this week, the Financial Times now reports LIV Golf UK at JCB is expected to go ahead along with LIV Golf New York at Trump Bedminster. The PIF also added a further $130 million cash injection into LIV Golf in the last few days. Full report on the FT website.

The LET and Golf Saudi have officially announced the PIF London Championship to be held at Centurion Club for the 6th consecutive time, from August 6-9th 2026. The press release references the PIF’s “continued commitment” and the event will have a $2 million purse. Charley Hull said: “Competing in London always brings special energy, and Centurion Club is a course that challenges every part of your game. It’s been exciting to see the continued growth of the PIF Global Series, from the great venues we compete at to the global platform the events now have. With so many of the world’s top players in the field, winning here takes something truly special and is a big deal.” @LETgolf @HullCharley

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil was interviewed on CNBC by Scott Wapner earlier. He said he’s had 5 formal meetings, under NDA, with investors, and 18 more this week, with a “positive” response. He also put an emphasis on the short timeline and said they may break up the $300 million investment into smaller $50 million chunks, where they’ve had an expression of interest. He was then asked about speculation the PIF may pull the funding before the end of the season, and Scott O’Neil said: “Well, I can say they've been terrific partners so far. And you have to take an incredible organization like PIF at their word. And they've been very public about funding us through the season.” When Scott Wapner followed up asking directly if he can guarantee the 2026 schedule will be completed, he said: “What I can guarantee is a heck of a return if you come invest in this business.” LIV Golf has burned cash every quarter since its launch. He was asked how he can convince investors they’re not throwing “good money after bad”: “You know, I think it starts with the billions and billions of dollars that have been built to create the foundation of this program, to build a brand this strong, to assemble this kind of star power, and to be a truly global league. I mean, this is a sports league that plays the most important sport in the world on five continents. There just aren't that many opportunities like that. Now, the question is, will the business be different than it was over the last five years? I can say dramatically — this will be a very disciplined approach.   “We are cutting the expense side dramatically and the revenue momentum that we've had — you know, my first year in '25, we've doubled revenue. We're already up $100 million over last year in '26. So we have really good business momentum. This is about getting the costs under control, re-imagining what the business could, should, and will look like, and then engaging our players as partners — like true equity partners in this business.” Scott then went into detail about how committed Bryson DeChambeau is and how he has actually been part of creating the business plan. (I have this confirmed by Bryson). And then spoke about Jon Rahm and said they go back and forth via text message quite a few times: “I know it's hard for others in the golf industry to understand, but this is a group that is committed to their teams. They're committed to the league and they're committed to this program. Re-imagining team golf, truly growing the game around the world and making an impact. It's a younger audience. It's a much more diverse audience, and we take things that are tried and true in every other sport — music, fashion, art, food — and we merge that with golf to create what I think is the best experience in sports.” Finally, he was asked what would happen to the big money contracts if the league were to fold: “Well, I think we'd all be in the same boat at that point. And that's why we're so locked in — 100% focused on getting it to a transaction. And yes, we understand there's a time constraint, but what a special time in the world to be able to get into the world's most important sport, a global sport, and to come in at a ground level at a great price with an incredible return ahead. So that's where we're locked in, and that's our focus.” I have intentionally not added much editorialising to allow the reader to make up their own mind. I will say this though, the next 7 weeks are the most important in the history of LIV Golf and they will likely decide the fate of the league.

Think it should also be noted that O'Neil said in the CNBC interview that he is taking PIF 'at its word' that it would fund LIV for the rest of the season. After the shock news of a few months ago, I suppose O'Neil is hesistant to 'guarantee' anything based on Saudi promises

GIRLDAD 1% BETTER SOBER is DOPE🔥 JUNE 19 new merch/hats droppin @malbongolf

This is why it’s really important to see the full context of the interview instead of cutting it off to get clicks online. Here is what Scott O’Neil actually had to say about funding for the rest of the season: “Well, I can say [The PIF] been terrific partners so far, and you have to take an incredible organization like PIF at their word. And they've been very public about funding us through the season. So we are full steam ahead. The players are locked in.

🏮🏮News I’ve been dying to share🏮🏮 Big Break returns to @GolfChannel in August and I am hosting the “Meet the Contestants” part of the show. I travel to all 12 players homes and we all get to know them. I loved this show so much when it was on, I cannot believe I’m part of its return. I didn’t get this far in my dreams honestly. I don’t even know what to say besides thank you to GC @goodgood_golf and @GOLFPASS for making this possible. And all of you for the support. There are some amazing stories that will be on the show, some I knew, others I didn’t. And i can’t wait for you to meet all of them. I can’t believe I’m a host on Big Break. Blows my mind.

Golf Australia confirmed on Tuesday a multi year partnership with the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour to elevate the men’s Australian Open. The agreement enables the PGA Tour of Australia and DP World Tour to co-sanction the event and will lead to increased prize money, and a “distinct window in the global golf calendar” to ensure a strong field. James Sutherland, Golf Australia CEO, said: “The Australian Open has a proud history going back to 1904 and is recognised globally as one of the great national championships of world golf. “Our ambition is clear. We want the men’s Capital. com Australian Open to be recognised among the top 10 most prestigious golf tournaments globally, and everything we are doing for the event flows from that ambition. “Getting the Australian Open right is about securing the total mix. That means world-class venues, strong host-state partnerships, commercial partners, sanctioning partners, broadcast reach, a great fan experience and the ability to attract strong international fields. “This agreement with the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia strengthens the global relevance of the championship and gives us another important platform to keep growing the event year-on-year.  “Together with our partnerships with Victoria, South Australia, Capital. com, our host venues and our other commercial partners, this puts us in the best possible position to realise our ambition of making the men’s Australian Open one of the world’s great golf events.” This will be a big blow to LIV Golf who targeted adding the event as part of their 2027 vision.

Despite Anthony Kim being one of the most inspiring stories in sport, he is still getting A LOT of hate from social media trolls. A quick check of the comments on any post, which are normally just pics of him and his family, and you’ll see them. I asked AK how he deals with it: “I probably shouldn't say this, but the Internet trolls make my day. I grew up with a different childhood and I'm used to getting shit. So I don't care what people really say about me. I'm here to just do my thing and be a good role model for my daughter.” I don’t understand how anyone can see a man completely transform his life and then rush to abuse him. But it’s good to see in classic AK fashion he’s keeping it real. 1% better 👊 @AnthonyKim_Golf @livgolf_league

Over the last few weeks, several DP World Tour members have expressed concerns to me at the new proposed “track” system on the PGA Tour that could effectively relegate the DP World Tour to tier 3 on the ‘global pathway system’. None of these players would speak publicly, but Eddie Pepperell said he has similar concerns on the latest episode of the Chipping Forecast podcast: “The concern, and this is going to be dependent to the changes that come on the PGA Tour, is that the DP World Tour isn’t just the Championship, it’s actually League 1. “Because if we lose these players to tier 2 on the PGA Tour, then the DP World Tour are really getting no benefits because these players aren’t going to gain great visibility going to America playing the Texas Open, where they would if they were playing the Memorial, but they’re not going to have access to the Memorial. So depending on the changes that come their way at the PGA Tour, I think the DP World Tour is going to have to seriously reconsider these players and the amount they go across.” He also added extra context: “That being said, we’ve had this conversation it seems every year, and the next year we’re talking about new talent. So the conveyor belt of talent within Europe and around Europe is still very strong and also you’re seeing players like Sami Valimakki coming back from the States because although they’ve had some success, they don’t actually love it over there and that’s a common theme and story I keep hearing. “So it’s going to be very interesting to see how many of those players would go across to play in America if they’re not having access to play in the very biggest tournaments. Because some of them might decide, ‘you know what, I might keep my lifestyle in Europe because I prefer it so much more.” Over the next few months, the professional golf landscape is about to change significantly and the knock on effect will impact every major tour in the world. @PepperellEddie @DPWorldTour

Torque GC Championship in partnership with @AJGAGolf is underway in Florida this week! 👀