LIV Golf cuts season short, moves team championship to Indianapolis

LIV Golf said on Monday it will conclude its 2024 season a week earlier than scheduled, cancelling the team championship that was to be held in Michigan next week. The league will instead determine the team champion at the LIV Golf Indianapolis tournament, which begins Thursday at The Club at Chatham Hills, 20 miles north of Indianapolis.

The shortened schedule, now 12 events after the postponement of the New Orleans tournament, is the smallest since the league’s launch in 2022. Individual champion Jon Rahm has already secured the season title for the third consecutive year, while the Indianapolis event will decide the final individual standings and the top team.

The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, LIV Golf’s primary backer, announced in March that 2024 would be its final year of funding. Earlier this month the league disclosed an agreement with a lead investor that will support a restructured version of the competition slated for 2027.

"By concluding the season now, we can put our full resources behind what comes next and maintain the operational rigor this transition demands," LIV CEO Scott O'Neil said in a statement.

"We are reimagining LIV Golf as a fundamentally new league owned by the players and anchored in a sustainable business model, with an evolved fan experience built for the markets where the game is growing fastest across the globe and the support of world-class partners," he added.

Ticket holders for the Michigan event will receive refunds, and planned live performances by Thomas Rhett and Disco Lines at Indianapolis were also cancelled due to “unavoidable changes in the entertainment program.” The final tournament carries a $20 million purse, with $4 million awarded to the winner, and may be the last event with such a large payout.

LIV Golf did not disclose the identity of the new lead investor or the size of the financial commitment, nor whether it is an equity investment or a loan. O'Neil indicated that the 2027 format will give players equity stakes, describing it as a “second bite at the apple.”

The reduced prize structure is already evident: Rahm earned $6 million for the points title, down from $18 million in each of the previous two seasons. The Indianapolis event will also award bonuses for third place ($1 million) and second place ($3 million) among individual players, while team competition remains tight, with Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces leading narrowly over the Australia-based Ripper team.