So much for “full throttle.”
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil said earlier this month that LIV’s season would continue “exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle.” The Athletic and other outlets reported on Monday that the LIV Golf Louisiana event in June will be postponed.
Per the reports, O’Neil and Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development Susan Bourgeois spoke on Friday and agreed to postpone the June 25-28 tournament in the wake of news that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was preparing to pull funding from LIV.
The two sides hope to plan “a re-envisioned event in the fall,” per The Athletic. NOLA.com reported that LIV is exploring a “smaller, exposition-style tournament” in New Orleans in the fall. LIV Golf’s team championship in late August is the last event currently scheduled.
LIV Golf did not reply to The Athletic’s request for comment.
For the June event at New Orleans’ Bayou Oaks in City Park, Louisiana was to spend about $7 million, with $5 million to go to hosting fees and roughly $2 million to improve the course. The course improvements have gone as planned, but only about $3 million overall had been spent as of last week.
Per The Athletic, the parties agreed that LIV would return the $1.2 million it received from Louisiana, while the state would accept the $2 million spent on the course as an improvement to a state asset.
Meanwhile, O’Neil and LIV Golf are attempting to raise funds to help the league amid the possibility of losing PIF funding after 2026.
Part of the plan involves selling equity in the 13 LIV Golf teams, according to The Athletic. Partnering with national opens is also on the table as the league explores methods to improve the league.
As of Monday, the LIV Golf Virginia event at Trump National Golf Club is scheduled to begin May 7 outside Washington, D.C.
–Field Level Media
