LIV Golf players given three‑week deadline to choose tour

For the second time in nine months, players who joined the Saudi‑backed LIV Golf league face a three‑week deadline to decide their future in professional golf.

The first deadline, in January, saw Brooks Koepka become the inaugural LIV player to return to the PGA Tour, accepting financial penalties that barred him from equity grants for five years. PGA Tour chief Brian Rolapp subsequently offered the same terms to Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, all of whom declined.

Now the European Tour has issued a “take it or leave it” ultimatum, announced by CEO Guy Kinnings, requiring any player seeking membership to abandon the new version of LIV Golf. “Players need to make a choice,” Kinnings said, stressing that the tour’s rules must be respected.

European Tour membership is the only viable alternative for many, as the PGA Tour imposes a one‑year ban on former LIV participants. Without European membership, players lose eligibility for events such as the Ryder Cup. Jon Rahm has already indicated he will leave LIV after reviewing the proposed terms of LIV 2.0.

LIV Golf, now emerging from bankruptcy without Saudi funding, relies on a $300 million pledge from BC Partners Credit. The restructuring deadline has been moved to 25 October, with the league needing a “critical mass of players” to operate a bona fide professional circuit.

The situation leaves players weighing the loss of lucrative Saudi backing against limited options on the PGA and European Tours.

Source: ABC News. Photo: Pok Rie / Pexels.