Hatton Expects LIV Golf to Continue as Tour Cuts Staff and Hunts for $350m
Tyrrell Hatton says he expects LIV Golf to run next season — even as the breakaway tour lays off staff, cancels its finale, and hunts for $350m (£257m) to stay alive.
The English golfer told reporters at the Belfry that LIV has "worked hard" to secure funding for 2027 and beyond, and that he believes there will be a LIV season next year. Hatton has multiple years left on his contract, according to BBC Sport.
The optimism sits against a grim backdrop. LIV's season finished early in Indianapolis last week after the tour cancelled its intended finale, the team championship in Detroit. A LIV spokesperson confirmed to BBC Sport that some employees are being laid off, with many told their jobs under "LIV 1.0" will end in the first week of September.
The tour has lost the financial backing of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund — the sovereign wealth fund that bankrolled LIV from its launch in 2022. LIV says it has signed a term sheet with a potential new backer, but there is no confirmation that concrete funding is in place. The figure the tour needs to find, according to BBC Sport, is $350m.
Hatton's choice of walk-on music in Indianapolis — Queen's "I Want to Break Free" — was either a coincidence or a nod to the uncertainty swirling around the league's players. BBC Sport reported a strong feeling that Hatton and Jon Rahm may have played their last LIV events.
For European golf fans, the LIV chaos has a direct knock-on effect. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald said the lack of clarity over LIV's future made it impossible to offer Ryder Cup qualifying points to the tour. Hatton remains eligible for Europe's defence next year — but only if he pays outstanding fines and serves the suspensions that follow from his LIV involvement.
LIV chief executive Scott O'Neil told players in April that the 2026 season would continue "as planned and uninterrupted." By July, the league was informing employees of potential workforce reductions as it sought new investment. Senior figures in European golf told BBC Sport in April that they believed LIV would not continue past this year.
LIV itself has framed the cuts as a transition to "LIV 2.0," stating that the PIF funding commitment announced earlier this year will reach its conclusion. The tour is scaling back operations while it seeks a new financial footing.
The PGA Tour is trimming too — cutting 4% of its workforce, or 56 jobs, in April — but from a position of institutional stability rather than existential doubt.
What makes LIV's situation different is the scale of the cliff edge. A tour that signed players to contracts worth tens of millions, staged events from Adelaide to Chicago, and challenged golf's established order now needs a third of a billion dollars just to keep the lights on. A signed term sheet is a start, not a guarantee. Until the money lands, every LIV contract — Hatton's included — rests on a promise that has not yet been kept.
