Will the LIV Golf League play in New Orleans this summer?
The Saudi-backed rival of the PGA Tour is coming to Bayou Oaks at City Park for a tournament June 25-28.
The event is a signature happening for both the park and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who worked hard to lure the league to New Orleans, even using state funding to ensure their commitment to Louisiana.
But, Wednesday morning reports from golf journalists around the world brought to light questions about the future of LIV Golf.
The Daily Telegraph in the United Kingdom reports, “LIV Golf executives have been summoned to a meeting in New York to talk about a ‘seismic’ announcement.”
The Golf podcast ‘Flushing it Golf’ says, “LIV Golf executives are in Mexico City today and sources indicate it is “business as usual” for the league.”
Rick Lerner with the Golf Channel reports, “pairings were just released for tomorrow’s first round of LIV Golf Mexico, for what it’s worth. Players, though, are still awaiting their fate. They’ll know more likely by mid-afternoon.”
LIV Golf does not have a full-time operation in Louisiana, but is working with local entities to produce the tournament in New Orleans.
Sources close to LIV in New Orleans, speaking on the condition of anonymity, tell WDSU they are still on track to host the event in June and working to make sure the tournament is a huge success, adding the reports this morning are the first they’ve heard of any type of potential disruption to the league.
LIV is a rival league to the PGA Tour, funded by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund that has tried to reinvent the structure of professional golf with 48-man fields, no mid-tournament cuts and up to $25 million in prize money. There is also a team component. LIV Golf lured away 13 former major champions, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and Jon Rahm who were then suspended by the PGA Tour.
The kingdom has been investing in sports and entertainment in recent years as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s initiative called “Vision 2030” to diversify and reduce its dependence on oil. Golf was a natural fit.
It has led to accusations of “sports washing,” an attempt to use sports investments to gloss over human rights abuses, such as the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA says occurred on the orders of bin Salman.
In June 2023, the PGA Tour dropped its fight with LIV Golf and instead announced a merger aimed at creating a global operation featuring the world’s top players backed by the Saudis’ massive wealth.
Louisiana is allocating public money to upgrade the championship course at City Park and attached facilities in an effort to bring this major sporting event to New Orleans.
WDSU has learned the amount of money committed to this project is in the low seven figures, under $5 million. But LIV is also expected to fund some of the renovations needed at Bayou Oaks.
One person close to the situation says the projected economic impact from the event for the region could be between $50-75 million.
The PGA Tour will host the Zurich Classic of New Orleans next week at TPC Louisiana.
New Orleans has hosted the PGA Tour annually since 1938.
The 2024 and 2025 Zurich Classic events were the most successful in tournament history, setting records for attendance and resulting in more than $3 million being donated to various children’s charities throughout the metro area.
READ MORE:Two months before event in New Orleans, reports are questioning the future of LIV Golf
