The LIV Golf Bubble is Ready to Burst

LIV Golf inflicted serious wounds on the PGA TOUR when it launched four years ago. With names like Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Phil Mickelson leaving for greener pastures in the form of EDM and naked knees, the landscape of golf looked to be at the start of a transitional period.

The league, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has siphoned a few stars in the years following—most notably Jon Rahm at the end of 2023—but recently, the additions have been anything but needle movers. Now, that’s not to say the players aren’t talented, but if you were to ask the average golf fan to weigh in, most wouldn’t even recognize the names.

LIV’s latest acquisition is Thomas Detry, the 56th-ranked player in the world and one-time TOUR winner (2025 WM Phoenix Open). He’s got game, just one that no one would pay to see. And the rest of LIV’s offseason additions can be thrown in the same bucket.

I’m sure these aren’t the players Scott O’Neil had in mind when he set out to make a splash as the league’s new CEO, and a recent report from Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard confirms that perception.

According to the long-time insider, Akshay Bhatia turned down a “lucrative” offer to leave the TOUR behind. Add that to the rumors that circulated Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im last month—the gossip was quickly shut down by both players—and it’s obvious LIV and O’Neil were big-game hunting.

The salt in LIV’s wounds, however, was Koepka’s departure. He was one of the few players who brought both resume and major-championship-winning talent to the league’s roster. Among over-the-hill and washed-up vets, Koepka, for the most part, was a viable pick to win when the golf world reconvened four times a year. Now, LIV is left with Rahm and DeChambeau to represent the “true-threat” faction—that is, if the Big Golfer even sticks around.

DeChambeau, LIV's de facto poster boy, wouldn't commit to re-signing with the league before the 2026 season—his contract is up at the end of the year—and mentioned Koepka's leaving as the proverbial wrench in his plan.

“With Brooks leaving, it definitely throws in some unique things," DeChambeau told Flushing It. "And look, I mean, like I’ve said all along, I want to do this, I want to grow team golf across the globe. But it has to be right. And there’s a lot of things that have to be done in order for it to be right, you know? Things have got to change. Things have got to improve."

What’s turned from an incline to an undeniable fact is this: LIV’s time poaching from the top of the game is over.

Players have seen LIV’s golf-but-louder atmosphere. They’ve seen the subpar venues and lackluster crowds. They’ve seen the cover-your-eyes TV numbers. Now that the mystery is gone, the shine is worn, and the curtain has been pulled back, it’s clear where the best golf in the world is played, and it’s not Greg Norman’s baby.

As more stars approach the end of their contractual obligations—most contracts have been reported as "multiyear," so the exact timetable is unknown—it’s impossible to have any confidence in LIV’s retention acumen. When Koepka walked out the door, he didn’t close it behind him. Inevitably, more will follow, and the replacements will fail to fill the shoes left behind. Shane Falco ain't walking in that door.

For the first time, it feels like the LIV Golf bubble is getting ready to burst.