LIV Golf CEO says tour will continue, 'wouldn't bet against us' - ESPN

WESTFIELD, Ind. — CEO Scott O'Neil is confident that LIV Golf will continue as it attempts to remake itself amid present financial hurdles and no funding from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia beyond this season.

He also expressed a desire for the forthcoming version of LIV to be accepted into the larger golf ecosystem.

«We have work to do,» O'Neil said Wednesday ahead of the league's season finale in Indianapolis. «There are hurdles we have to jump over. It's a very complex transaction we'll have to deliver. But man, I wouldn't bet against us.»

The transaction O'Neil speaks of is one that the league is currently courting as it maintains this high-wire balancing act between securing the funding to continue while also trying to get players to commit to the plan O'Neil & Co. have presented: a 10-event schedule with five international «championships» and five «signature» events predominantly hosted in the United States.

The circuit would feature smaller purses than in the past but include player equity in the league and give players the ability to play on other tours should they be eligible or invited.

«The entirety of our focus is to get to this transaction and get through it. Without the players, that becomes very difficult,» O'Neil said. «I have a good level of confidence in my conversation that we'll have a critical mass of the right players to move this league forward.»

Two weeks ago at LIV New York, O'Neil said the league had signed a term sheet with a lead investor to fund LIV Golf in 2027. A source confirmed to ESPN that the lead investor is Ted Goldthorpe of BC Partners.

On Tuesday, Goldthorpe spoke to LIV players in Indianapolis for the first time and shared his vision. The term sheet is not a binding