Scottie Scheffler is hopeful the PGA Tour can eventually welcome back LIV Golf's best players, but Rory McIlroy didn't sound as eager as the two tours get set to hold competing events for perhaps the final time.
The world's two best golfers were asked about LIV Golf's uncertain future hours before LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil preached "high confidence" in the league's future. O'Neil called for more cooperation among the sport's leaders in the league's latest attempt to deflect speculation that this week's LIV event in Indianapolis could be its last one before folding.
"I wouldn't bet against us," O'Neil told reporters during a pre-tournament news conference on Wednesday, August 19.
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Scheffler, McIlroy differ on LIV Golf 'value' to PGA Tour
Whether LIV Golf survives in a new form or not, Scheffler said he wants LIV Golf's best to be allowed to defect back to the PGA Tour, provided there are "some sort of penalties" as designated by PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp.
"The depth that we have on our Tour is a bit unmatched, but I think when you look at the higher levels of LIV Golf, there's definitely some players that would provide a lot of value to the Tour," Scheffler told reporters at the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club outside St. Louis for the second event of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs. "... I look forward to the chance to compete with them more often."
McIlroy, an outspoken LIV Golf critic, offered a harsher take than Scheffler when asked a similar question.
"I mean, I'd argue have they brought value to LIV?" McIlroy said. "... I think the PGA Tour is in a really good spot."
Rolapp has previously indicated he was open to allowing more golfers who defected to LIV Golf to return to the PGA Tour if it made the PGA Tour stronger. But he emphasized it was not one of the PGA Tour's priorities as it eyes a revamped schedule beginning next year.
What's the latest on LIV Golf's new investor?
O'Neil, who took over as LIV Golf CEO in January 2025, described the past few months as "severely challenging" and emphasized the sport "doesn't need another five years of fighting." He proposed LIV Golf members be permitted to play on other tours and noted current LIV golfers have a deadline to commit to remaining with LIV Golf moving forward. He did not, however, specify a date for that deadline.
The league has plans for a reduced schedule and a new operating format in 2027, with golfers as the majority equity holders in the tour.
O'Neil's latest comments come in the midst of LIV Golf's pursuit of long-term funding from a new investor that it has not yet publicly named. O'Neil once again declined to name the investor on Wednesday, though he previously said there was an "agreement" in place. Multiple reports have identified private equity firm BC Partners as LIV Golf's potential new partner.
BC Partners CEO Ted Goldthorpe was in attendance at LIV Golf New York earlier this month along with U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Goldthorpe also spoke with LIV golfers on Tuesday ahead of the season-ending event in Indianapolis, according to The Athletic.
LIV Golf confirmed on Monday that the LIV Golf Indianapolis event slated to begin on Thursday, Aug. 20 will mark the end of its 2026 season after weeks of speculation that its team championship event slated for next week in Michigan would be called off amidst funding issues.
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which has reportedly spent more than $5 billion founding and operating LIV Golf, announced in April that it would not continue funding the tour following the 2026 season as part of a strategic shift, leaving LIV officials to find an alternative source of funding.
LIV Golf is now facing lawsuits from multiple vendors over unpaid invoices related to its events. The $40 million purse for this week's event in Indianapolis is about $30 million less than what was originally announced for the Indianapolis and Michigan events.
The 2027 LIV schedule will feature just 10 events, instead of 14, with five taking place in the U.S. and five at international sites, according to O'Neil. But rumors of LIV Golf's impending demise have continued in recent weeks, with prominent LIV Golf member Ian Poulter noting in a recent interview that "time might run out."
"There is a hard deadline I think of September 1st ... to find $300 million," Poulter said on GOLF LIFE on YouTube. "That is not a lot of time considering people and contracts have got to be signed."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy weigh in on LIV Golf's uncertain future
