LIV Golf: Cam Smith To Help With Australian Investment

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil pictured at Adelaide event and Australian golfer Cameron Smith of Ripper GC — (Image credit: Getty Images)

There are reports, claims and counter claims, so where exactly does LIV Golf stand right now? And could "prominent Australians" provide financial salvation for the team-based tour?

Scott O'Neil has been a bundle of energy and the model of positivity in the face of what is a hugely difficult task trying to conjure up enough cash to plug the huge funding black hole being left by the Saudi PIF's withdrawal.

But it's clear there's an air of uncertainty and concern even about the rest of the season, due to the way the PIF structures its funding of the league in regular installments.

There were headlines when O'Neil couldn't guarantee all four remaining events of the season could be played, but to be fair to him how could he guarantee it when nobody really knows what the PIF is planning?

"I don't have a crystal ball, unfortunately," O'Neil told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) on Friday. "But I can tell you this: the PIF has been a really strong supporter; they have always been good on their word, and they have pledged publicly that they will support us through the season."

According to the Financial Times the PIF has pumped around $200m into LIV Golf since April, but had planned on $600m to finish off the season.

There's no reason right now to suggest those funds won't be released as promised, but it's understandable that plenty of people inside LIV, those talking to Front Offics Sports for instance, are concerned.

And getting to the end of the season is just the start of the battle really, as then a huge restructuring has to take place to produce a more streamlined and sustainable LIV Golf 2.0 that's attractive to investors.

And O'Neil has been doing the media rounds to again project his positive spin on things, claiming that there's plenty of interest from around the world - but with a focus recently on Australia.

O'Neil claims investors interested in entire $300m stake

“I know I shouldn’t be enjoying this moment, but I’m full of energy right now.," O'Neil told the New York Post.

"This is what I’m meant to be here for. Every investor call I get, I get more excited and more hyped. I get on player calls and they’re like, ‘Let’s go, team.’

O'Neil says he is chasing $300m of investment, and claims that there's interest in financing the entire league and also multiple investors interested in a lower level - with an idea of getting them from different areas around the world.

"Some of the private equity firms we're meeting with are interested in taking the whole $300 million" O'Neil told AAP.

"We have spoken to some professional sports team owners; they seem to be talking in the $25 million to $50 million range. And some combination of those two might happen as well.

"This is a business and a business plan that will reset with quite a bit of discipline, that will be sustainable and profitable business in three short years, so we're very excited about what we're building."

Why Cam Smith could help save LIV

Cameron Smith at the 2025 Australian PGA Championship

O'Neil says the success of the LIV event in Adelaide is used in his pitches to potential investors.

"There is nothing I have seen like the fans in Australia at a LIV event, so it's a very, very special place and it plays a very prominent role in talking to investors," he added.

"In fact, because we play on five continents, our dream scenario is to have investment from each of the five continents."

And that includes Australia, with O'Neil adding: "We are very tapped in and wired in to the Australian business community and those who might be interested.

"Yes, we're having some ongoing dialogue with some prominent Australians."

Helping with these talks seems to be Cameron Smith, with the Ripper GC captain playing a prominant role in helping to try and bring in investors.

"He has been quite public and quite up-front about his support and the support of his team-mates for this next version of LIV; this LIV 2.0 version," O'Neil said of Smith.

"He is a force to be reckoned with on the tour, and on the road he's so respected by the players at LIV.

"He commands impact and influence on those around him and he has been a true champion for securing the investment."

There's no concrete leads or names of interested investors as yet, but one thing's for sure, if LIV Golf doesn't survive it won't be from a lack of effort from the CEO.

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Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.