Why the breakaway league faces an uncertain path after Asian Tour partnership and player exits
Priest of the House
Professional golf’s four-year turf war looks close to an end this week with America’s PGA Tour and the DP World Tour taking a hit on LIV Golf as the rebel league’s tournament is held in England’s Midlands.
LIV was already reeling from the withdrawal of financier Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, but now hopes it could continue into 2027 have been dealt a fresh blow.
On Tuesday, as LIV golfers were playing practice rounds at the JCB course in England, news broke that the Asian Tour had partnered with LIV’s rivals, the DP World Tour and PGA Tour. The new three-round partnership will see co-sanctioned tournaments as well as pathways to the top two tiers in Europe for players in Asia.
While LIV was looking to invest in the market for 2027, this was a significant hurdle to jump as the Asian Round was a vital stepping stone for LIV.
Originally, the Asian Tour had established a US$300 million partnership with LIV ahead of its 2022 launch, in turn creating the monetized “International Series” that LIV golfers often play.
As a feeder round, the International Series was also vital to the promotion and relegation aspect of LIV – the 2026 season featured the top two players in the series’ order of merit.
As a secondary circuit, the Asian Tour also helped provide LIV with an external avenue for player exchange; It’s an issue that has long been studied in the league’s quest to recognize the Official World Golf Rankings.
LIV can still organize its own qualifying school, but without the Asian Tour it becomes much more complicated to create a reliable promotion path.
The Asian Tour was also important because some of its historic national openers were part of LIV’s future plans.
With LIV’s future under cloud, Asian Tour general manager Cho Minn Thant said it needs to consider avenues for its member players.
“I think it’s just timing right now; it’s all about timing,” Thant said this week. “We were in contact [with the DP World Tour] all these years. [In 2022]Partnering with LIV Golf was right for us, but given the current circumstances we had to look at other options. “The routes to different tours are very important for our members.”
Following the news of the Asian Tour, the obstacles to LIV have also increased. On Wednesday, a report emerged saying two-time major winner Martin Kaymer, who captains the Cleeks GC team at LIV, is “extremely unlikely” to make the US$40 million Team Championship final in Michigan.
Then on Thursday, Flushing It Golf, a popular social media account with a significant reach of tour players, published a post after speaking to several players at the JCB course.
Flushing It detailed how seven players told the account they planned to exit LIV after the 2026 season, “regardless of whether LIV Golf obtains financing.”
This year, former LIV golfers Patrick Reed of America and Eugenio Chacarra of Spain, who left the league for the DP World Tour, have carved out a clear path back to the PGA Tour.
Reed and Chacarra, multiple DP World Tour winners this year, are in the top three on the points list and are poised to receive two of the 10 cards awarded to Europe’s top season-long points earners on the PGA Tour 2027.
This was followed by the revelation that the volume of LIV players seeking reassurance from the DP World Tour regarding individual playing opportunities for 2027 had increased “significantly” over the past few weeks.
LIV has two more individual tournaments after England, including stops in New Jersey and Indianapolis.
Sports fans are now watching to see what the future holds for a league that has reportedly received $5 billion from the PIF since its inception in 2022.
LIV disrupted the entire professional golf ecosystem by attracting huge stars like Bryson DeChambeau, Australia’s Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and others. The league’s massive tournament budgets and guaranteed rosters have forced the PGA Tour to survive through excessive prize money.
There were positive results for the fans; LIV has pushed the PGA Tour to streamline its competition structure to encourage top players to compete together more often and develop more innovative TV coverage. Australia also had the benefit of qualifying for the premier LIV Adelaide tournament.
But in the end, a league that initially promised “golf but louder” is struggling to make its voice heard. The next few months will determine whether LIV Golf will survive, be radically reinvented, or quietly fade away.
