LIV Golf continues to operate, yet its future appears uncertain and likely always has been.

LIV Golf seems to be running out of momentum, which, even during its initial phase of abundant funding and grand claims, appeared to be a foregone conclusion.

On Wednesday, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil informed his team via email that the 2026 season will proceed “as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” which includes this weekend’s event in Mexico.

He did not comment on various media reports suggesting that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund intends to withdraw its financial support after investing approximately $5 billion over five years in the ambitious vision of establishing a leading professional golf tour.

The individual who initially convinced the PIF of this concept misrepresented the reality. Many individuals profited from it, particularly golfers, who received substantial salaries from LIV and benefited from subsequent reforms in the PGA Tour. However, the lucrative phase was likely destined to conclude.

Eventually, the financial losses would become too significant, the television ratings in the U.S. too low, and the PGA Tour, deeply entrenched in American golf, too formidable to be displaced.

The original premise was that the Saudis possessed an endless reservoir of funds to expend. Perhaps. However, what they lacked, as does everyone, is an infinite tolerance for public humiliation.

Spending vast sums of money can be entertaining until one realizes that Talor Gooch was compensated nearly $70 million. (Congratulations to Gooch, by the way.)

In 2023, LIV was so confident in its future supremacy that its outspoken CEO Greg Norman suggested that LIV golfers would hold a celebratory gathering behind the 18th green at Augusta National if one of them triumphed at the Masters.

This notion was met with disdain from golf traditionalists. The situation was averted when Jon Rahm, then a member of the PGA Tour, emerged victorious. LIV responded by signing him eight months later to a deal reportedly exceeding $300 million.

However, just last week, LIV’s presence at Augusta was barely noticeable.

Critics had long contended that LIV’s absence of fierce competition and top-tier courses would diminish the performance of its stars. While LIV’s Tyrrell Hatton finished T-3, prominent players like Rahm (T-38) and Bryson DeChambeau (missed cut) fell short of expectations. Additionally, Cam Smith, who was signed by LIV while ranked No. 2 in the world after winning the Open Championship, failed to make the cut for a sixth consecutive major.

In contrast, former LIV and PGA returnees Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka both ended up T-12.

LIV generated considerable buzz and caused anxiety within the PGA Tour. It was startling to witness a stream of the sport’s most marketable figures departing. At one point, a merger seemed inevitable.

At times, LIV acted as a positive influence. It hosted events in Asia and Africa, regions where the sport seldom appears. Its tournaments are designed to be enjoyable for fans. An increase in golf events is generally seen as beneficial.

Moreover, it prompted significant changes in how the PGA Tour interacts with its players. Its lighter schedule even allowed DeChambeau to engage with YouTube and showcase his personality more effectively.

For the majority of golf enthusiasts, however, these were merely abstract ideas. Their primary desire is to watch the best compete against each other on premier courses during Sunday afternoons. Tradition holds significant value in golf, and it is challenging to replace.

LIV was not only attempting to rival the PGA Tour and offer a superior product; it was also striving to alter the fundamental preferences of golf fans to present a subtly, yet distinctly, different offering. This is even more difficult to accept.

At some point, the golfing community may find humor in this situation, perhaps in an entertaining “30 for 30” that reminds future viewers that this surreal episode actually took place.

The 54-hole tournaments. The resort courses. The shorts. The shotgun starts. The way Augusta National so disapproved of Norman that it refused to extend an invitation to the Masters, forcing him to purchase a badge on the secondary market like any ordinary person carrying a folding chair up Washington Road.

And what about the team play? Remember when that was supposed to be groundbreaking?

“How I joined LIV,” Bubba Watson once stated, maintaining a straight face, “is my 10-year-old son [and I] were watching golf on TV, and he recognized the Aces. Everyone knows the Aces. They keep winning. He recognized the Aces. He knew the Stingers.”

In reality, almost no one was familiar with the Aces or the Stingers or much else about LIV, except that it was compensating high-profile players like Watson substantial amounts to refrain from participating in the PGA Tour.

At LIV, it was simpler to pretend otherwise than to confront the truth. This was a significant financial grab; they caught some wealthy individuals off guard.

LIV remains operational, for the time being. Perhaps the Saudis will reaffirm their commitment. There may be alternative funding sources. Anything is possible, but much of it seems improbable.

The pressing question now is how the PGA Tour should handle the defectors; should it adopt a “live and let live” approach, or treat them as traitors who attempted to undermine the tour?

Some players are older and inconsequential, so their absence may not matter. For others, a sliding scale might be appropriate. No, Phil Mickelson, you are banned for life, but, Gooch, come on back; who can fault you?

One proposal: require them to requalify for the Tour by sending them to the Korn Ferry for a year; a blend of humble atonement and strengthening that level of the sport … one week in Chile or Amarillo or Downstate Illinois at a time.

After all, the LIV participants always asserted that this was about “growing the game,” not about luxury and private jets.

Or something along those lines.