'Withdrawal of Saudi Support' Puts LIV Golf in Crisis... Season Officially Ends Early

*This content was translated by AI.

LIV Golf, which had grown rapidly thanks to massive support from Saudi Arabia, announced an early end to its season by abruptly canceling the Team Championship scheduled as the final event of the 2026 season.

Multiple foreign media outlets, including the British outlet 'BBC', reported on the 18th (Korean time) that LIV Golf had canceled the Team Championship event planned for Michigan.

Originally, the Michigan tournament was scheduled to take place from the 27th to the 30th, but concerns about cancellation had persisted as key players such as Tyrrell Hatton applied to participate in the British Masters held during the same period and ticket sales were halted.

On the same day, LIV Golf formalized the schedule change through a statement, announcing that the event taking place this week in Indianapolis will be the final tournament of the 2026 season and serve as the ultimate team competition. Full refunds will be issued to those who purchased tickets for the Michigan event.

Launched in 2022, LIV Golf gathered top-tier players such as Bryson DeChambeau based on astronomical funding support of 3.7 billion pounds (approximately 7 trillion 80.5 billion won) from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), but faced an uncertain future after the withdrawal of financial support by Saudi Arabia in April.

Scott O'Neill, CEO of LIV Golf, stated, "By concluding the season now, we will focus everything on taking the next step," and explained, "LIV Golf is being restructured as a completely new league based on a sustainable business model. We will add fan experiences tailored to the fastest-growing market in global golf, along with support from world-class partners."

Continuing, CEO O'Neill added, "Since its launch, the professional golf world has been more integrated than ever before. A genuine opportunity to grow golf together has emerged," and noted, "Indianapolis is the perfect finale of LIV Golf as fans have known it. It will become a new starting point for what LIV Golf aims to achieve."

However, while securing new investors and restructuring the league have emerged as key challenges, with star players' equity participation at the core, signs of departure among flagship stars are also appearing. The British outlet 'The Telegraph' reported that "LIV Golf leadership expects Jon Rahm, who has won the league individual championship for three consecutive years, to leave."

Meanwhile, LIV Golf, which has emphasized entertainment elements, decided not to hold weekend live music concerts at this week's Indianapolis event, signaling a move toward austerity and change. The LIV Golf side announced the cancellation of performances by scheduled artists such as Thomas Rhett and DISCO LINEs, asking for understanding from fans and stakeholders.

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*This content was translated by AI.