LIV Golf is back in the United States with its uncertain future as a league looming large over the actual tournament being held. LIV Golf New York began with first-round action on Thursday, August 6, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and there is expected to be a special guest on hand to watch Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and the rest of LIV Golf's international roster.
United States President Donald Trump plans to attend the tournament, a White House official confirmed to USA TODAY. It wasn't immediately clear which dates the president will be there. On Thursday, Trump was in the White House in the Oval Office.
This is the second-to-last regular season event scheduled for LIV Golf's turbulent 2026 season. After Saudi Arabia's
Public Investment Fund announced in April it would no longer provide funding moving forward, LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil said during a news conference Wednesday there is now a preliminary agreement with a new lead investor and a new organizational structure that will make LIV Golf players "majority equity holders" starting in 2027.
Trump is longtime LIV Golf supporter
This would be Trump's third appearance at a professional golf tournament held on one of his courses this year. In May, he attended the final round of the PGA Tour's Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami and the third round of the LIV Golf Virginia event at Trump National Golf Club on Lowes Island in Sterling, Virginia.
Trump has been a LIV Golf supporter since its inception in 2021, with the league holding events at Trump-affiliated courses every season of its existence. Trump has previously attended several tournaments and participated in pro-ams in conjunction with them.
DeChambeau also appeared alongside Trump inside the Oval Office ahead of the LIV Golf Virginia event in April to announce the return of the Presidential Fitness Test.
Trump has been involved in helping to find a reunification solution for professional golf since the start of LIV Golf. Tiger Woods, PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and former PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan were among a contingent that met with Trump at the White House in February 2026 for what Monahan described as a "constructive working session" at the time. Trump has expressed hope that the PGA Tour would welcome back LIV Golf members if LIV Golf were to fold after 2026.
"I do believe that all of the golfers, the great golfers, should be playing against each other," Trump told reporters during a news conference on April 30. "... I want to see Rory (McIlroy) playing Bryson DeChambeau. I want to see big Jon Rahm play Scottie (Scheffler), who's so great."
Trump recently 'won' club championship on same course
Trump is returning to his Bedminster, New Jersey club to watch some of the best golfers in the world test their mettle on a course he claimed to conquer a week earlier. Trump previously announced on social media that he won the club championship, along with a video of what he called "the winning shot." Another video posted on Aug. 2 shows Trump receiving a trophy for winning the "super senior" and "senior division."
"I won with a score of 70, and am so honored in that, unlike the rest of the field, I’m given very little time to practice, because I’m focused on many other things," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "It’s called TALENT, and I have it, and they don’t!"
What's next for LIV Golf?
O'Neil said on Wednesday he anticipates LIV Golf will finalize terms of its new investment agreement in the coming weeks, with the goal of making a more formal announcement in September. The 2027 LIV schedule will feature just 10 events, instead of 14, with five taking place in the U.S. and five international.
Though LIV Golf declined to publicly reveal its potential new lead investor, multiple reports later named the credit division of private equity group BC Partners. The Financial Times reported a final agreement between LIV Golf and BC Partners is contingent on BC Partners and other possible investors receiving assurances that LIV’s star golfers will stay with the league beyond this season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump expected to attend LIV Golf New York event in Bedminster, New Jersey
