With reports of an imminent demise, this is the last thing LIV golf needed.
The rebel organization on Friday suffered an embarrassing start to its Mexico City event with technical difficulties for over an hour just one day after rumors swirled the event could be the golf league’s final act.
Bombshell reports on Wednesday suggested the rug was about to be pulled from under the breakaway operation with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) considering slashing or even ending its funding of the $5 billion disruptor.
It has now emerged LIV and its powerful backer (PIF) are being sued by the operation’s predecessor.
In a court filing from April 16, Premier Golf and its parent company World Golf Group Limited have filed a lawsuit against the PIF, Golf Saudi and other LIV entities.
The case has been filed in the London Commercial Court, Sky Sports reports.
Premier Golf claims it first implemented a concept of a breakaway golf competition before the PIF turned to fund a new operation which ultimately became LIV.
Thursday’s opening round of the Mexico City event started with a strong show of resilience and dismissal by LIV with the broadcast beginning with bold statements from commentators Arlo White and David Feherty.
White greeted viewers by saying: “We’re delighted to report that the reports of the imminent demise of the LIV Golf league were, in fact, greatly exaggerated.”
Feherty went a step further.
“I’ve been in the professional game for 50 years now and I don’t think I’ve ever had two or three days where there was more absolute nonsense spread out,” he said.
“There are still some writers and broadcasters that take pride in their work, but this generation has spawned fast typists that consider themselves to be experts, and evidently they’re not.”
However, LIV scored a bogey moments later when its stream of the event went down with “severe” technical difficulties.
After screening action from the first group of players on the course, including an ace from Joaquin Niemann on the fourth hole, the broadcast fell apart just ten minutes after the first tee times.
It comes after LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil recently sent an email to staff in the wake of rumors about the league’s future.
“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil wrote.
“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. The life of a start-up 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.”
LIV Golf burst onto the scene with bold ambitions, including shorter formats, team play and unprecedented prize money, but has struggled to win over broadcasters and traditional fans.
While events in places like Australia and South Africa have drawn strong crowds, TV ratings have lagged badly behind the PGA Tour, and several high-profile players have already drifted back to established circuits.
A long-mooted merger with the PGA once seemed inevitable, but negotiations have stalled, leaving LIV in a precarious position.
Now, with its financial lifeline under threat, the once-revolutionary league may be fighting for survival.
Unless Saudi Arabia decides to double down, LIV Golf’s billion-dollar gamble could be heading for an abrupt and extraordinary end.