LIV Golf to postpone upcoming tour event as funding uncertainty causes scheduling chaos

LIV Golf’s debut event in New Orleans, set to take place this summer, will be postponed.

The move comes less than two weeks after CEO Scott O’Neil said the season will continue ‘exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle.’

Getty

Susan Bourgeois, secretary of Louisiana economic development, reached out to O’Neil in the days after news broke that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was preparing to pull funding from the breakaway league.

According to The Athletic, the pair spoke Friday, and agreed to postpone the June 25 event due to LIV Golf’s ‘changing business model.’

The decision is expected to be announced Tuesday, and both parties hope to plan a ‘re-envisioned event’ for later this year.

LIV Golf does not have a schedule after August’s team championship, which is set to take place in Michigan.

The postponement of LIV Golf Louisiana will likely cause a headache for local officials.

Amid the speculation about the league’s funding being pulled earlier this month, Governor Jeff Landry admitted millions of dollars had been allocated for the event.

“We had allocated, and the legislature had appropriated $7 million to put that particular tournament on, $2.1 million of that was slated for the work that was done at (Bayou Oaks) City Park,” Landry said.

“The rest of the money, my appreciation, is maybe another maybe million dollars has gone to LIV.”

He added the state can get the funds back.

“We’ve got a clawback provision,” Landry continued.

Getty

“So that leaves us with another $4 billion that has not been spent that is still in our coffers.

“On top of the fact that City Park got a great facelift, right?”

The Athletic reports that LIV will return the money it had already received, while the millions spent on Bayou Oaks will be treated as an ‘acceptable improvement to a state asset.’

What the postponement means for LIV Golf, though, remains unclear.

Losing the New Orleans event would mean the league, and its stars, would have a 47-day break between tournaments in Spain on June 4-7 and the UK on July 23-26.

It would also mean LIV would not have any tournaments in the US for a three-month period, from Virginia on May 7-10 until August 6-9 in New Jersey.

Getty

A break in the schedule coincides with the World Cup, which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

Sky Sports reports that concerns the soccer tournament could impact attendance and viewership, as well as high temperatures and course conditions, were factors in the decision to postpone the Louisiana event.

Aimd the LIV chaos, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has recently suggested the American circuit is open establishing new pathways to reinstate players from the breakaway league.

“We’re thinking about it,” Rolapp told The Pat McAfee Show last week.

Getty

“We’re reading all the same headlines you’re reading. We don’t know what’s going on over there.

“We know those guys are under contract and we’ll respect that.

“Brooks (Koepka) came back onto the Tour because he made a phone call and said: ‘I’m out of my contract and I’m ready to come back’.

“So, we’re thinking about it.”

The postponement of LIV Golf Louisiana adds another layer of drama to an already volatile situation, and could leave multiple stars seriously considering a return to the PGA Tour.

Stay up to date with the latest from golf across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more.