LIV Golf Pushes Back On Shutdown Rumors With Email That Appears To Include A Very Telling Error

Amid reports of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) potentially on the verge of pulling all funding of LIV Golf – which would virtually signal the end of the circuit – LIV CEO Scott O'Neill sent a company-wide email on Wednesday explaining that the season would go on "full throttle."

The email, which was obtained by OutKick, specifically addressed the media being "filled with speculation" while stating that the 2026 season will go on "exactly as planned." It did not directly mention anything about the PIF or funding.

"I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle," the email began. "While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.

"The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure. We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports."

LIV Golf is playing its sixth event of the season this week in Mexico City, with the opening round beginning on Thursday. As rumors and reports of LIV funding being pulled hit a peak on Wednesday, The Telegraph reported that LIV Golf executives had been called for a meeting in New York.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil poses after the announcement of Adelaide securing the tournament until 2031, during the final day of the LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club in Adelaide in February 2025. (Photo by BRENTON EDWARDS/AFP via Getty Images)

While the email from O'Neil hit (most of) the needed notes and checked plenty of corporate jargon checkpoints, one phrase in particular stands out.

"Let’s go out and show the world why LIV Golf is the future of the game. It matters. You mattered. Now, let’s go win," the final few lines of the email read.

You mattered?

Mistakes happen, people misspeak, and errors slip through the cracks of even the finest AI optimizers that the email almost certainly went through. Still, that specific phrasing is attention-worthy for obvious reasons.

Telling employees they "mattered" can only be perceived in one way, and it's not a positive one. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that LIV executive members have been "looking for new jobs" as rumors of the Saudi funding being cut off grew, and the use of the word "mattered" in a company-wide email from the CEO certainly doesn't contradict that report.