LIV Golf '100 per cent' funded despite crucial missing detail in boss response to collapse 'rumours'

LIV Golf chief executive Scott O'Neil has dismissed widespread reports the league is on the brink of collapse as "rumours" and "speculation".

On Thursday morning (AEST), The Telegraph (UK) and the Financial Times reported the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund was set to pull the pin on funding.

Executives were late arriving to the LIV event in Mexico City after being called to an emergency meeting in New York.

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But in a message to staff, O'Neil reportedly declared the tour was "100 per cent funded through the rest of the year", but made no reassurances beyond the end of 2026.

"I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle," O'Neil wrote, per ESPN.

"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 organisation 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 must answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports."

The league also alluded to the news with a social media post announcing the start time: "Slow news day? We are ON," it read.

This weekend's event is expected to continue as planned, although what happens beyond that is yet to be determined, leaving the futures of Aussies Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Elvis Smylie and Lucas Herbert under a cloud.

LIV has been funding the tour to the tune of $5 billion since it launched in 2021 promising a shake-up of the sport, but has racked up huge losses in the years since. A formal announcement from the tour is expected some time on Thursday.

The news comes after the PIF released a five-year investment strategy that included no mention of sport. According to The Guardian, the fund's sports focus will be narrowed to football and esport. The PIF had already announced it would end its association with women's tennis when the current deal to host the WTA finals in Riyadh expires in November.

In Mexico City, the regular pre-tournament press conference was cancelled, although organisers cited a power outage for the reason.

Players remain in the dark about the situation, despite rumours having started to circulate during Masters week.

Sergio Garcia - who this week drew the ire of fans for his final-round meltdown at Augusta - said he didn't know anything more than the media asking the questions.

"Honestly, we aren't going to listen to anything except for what (LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan) told us as the start of the year, that he is behind us, that they have a project for many years," he said in Spanish.

"As you know, there are always a lot of rumours. I can't tell you anything more than we already know."

Although the Australian event, held at The Grange in Adelaide, has attracted huge crowds, LIV has had little cut-through elsewhere in the world and is still without a major television broadcast deal.

South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas earlier this year announced the SA Government had signed an extension to continue hosting the event through 2031. The announcement also included plans to redevelop the North Adelaide Golf Club which would then take over as host.

LIV stars put on a disastrous showing at Augusta, with Tyrrell Hatton's third place the only highlight.

Bryson DeChambeau made a triple bogey on the 18th in the second round and missed the cut by a stroke. Cameron Smith never looked remotely a chance of making the weekend - his fifth straight major he's missed the cut.