LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil expressed optimism Tuesday in his first public comments since Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund confirmed it will pull its financial support following the 2026 season.

O’Neil cited the value of the league’s 13 teams as a means to attract new investors in the wake of the PIF news.

“If you ask me where the value of this business is, it’s in the teams,” O’Neil said at his pre-tournament press conference ahead of this week’s LIV Golf Virginia event in Washington, D.C.

“If you’re looking for direction, we believe that teams will have extraordinary value,” O’Neil said. “We believe that once we set the business in the right direction with the right trajectory, with the right revenue base and cost base — which we’re well on our way to doing — that these teams will have extraordinary value. And that’s where, if you’re an investor and you’re listening to this or reading this, that’s where you’re going to get your value.”

His comments came one day after LIV Golf announced that New York-based Ducera Partners LLC will serve as an investment banking advisor as it seeks financial stability moving forward.

O’Neil also discussed sponsorships, ticket sales and television contracts on Tuesday as a means to drive up funding.

“The way the process will typically work — I may be getting ahead of myself — is that we’re going to create a business plan, we’re going to lock arms with the players, we will go to market and raise money on a top level, and then we will get investors in teams in that order,” he said. “The players on the team should be locked in.”

O’Neil also addressed whether the PIF had committed to honoring contracts past 2026.

“I mean, they own the majority of the business now, and they’ve agreed to fund through the season, as they said. Nothing there has changed,” he said.

O’Neil said later in his press conference that he has “confidence that this is a place players want to be.” That said, he also was asked about golfers pursuing other options.

“I have so much to say on this topic, and I’m going to keep this short because I’m under direction to,” he said. “I will tell you this, one of the beauties of LIV Golf, the beauties, the thing I enjoy most about it, is that we are for golf. We always have been and we always will be. Our players, we commit them to 14 weeks. They come and play. They know exactly the weeks they’re expected to play, they show up, and they play.

“If another Tour is open for them to play, that’s 14 weeks out of 52. That’s 38 weeks. So if you want to see the best players in the world playing together more often, no problem, let’s do it on the other 38 weeks. Like it’s such a special opportunity.

“I feel like the opportunity, the chance, the gift we’ve been given here at LIV Golf is that we have players who will travel the world, and that is a gift to the game.”

Founded in 2021, LIV Golf made its debut in June 2022 and used lavish, guaranteed contracts to lure dozens of stars like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau away from the PGA. Former LIV participant Brooks Koepka already has returned to the PGA Tour while Patrick Reed will return later this season.

PIF has provided LIV with more than $5 billion, but the league reportedly has lost millions of dollars per year. Earlier this month, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PIF’s governor and LIV’s main financial backer, shared a plan for the kingdom to cut back on international investments and focus on more domestic projects.

O’Neil replaced former league leader Greg Norman as CEO in January 2025.

–Field Level Media

Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Angel Zerpa will have season-ending Tommy John surgery next Monday, the team confirmed Tuesday.

The 26-year-old reliever was placed on the 15-day injured list last week after experiencing tightness in his left forearm. The general recovery timeline for elbow surgery and UCL reconstruction is between 12 and 18 months.

Zerpa, acquired in an offseason trade with Kansas City, was 0-2 with two saves, a 6.39 ERA, six walks and eight strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings over 12 appearances with Milwaukee.

He last pitched on April 25, giving up three runs, one hit and one walk with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning in taking a 6-3 loss in 10 innings to the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.

The native of Venezuela is 12-9 in his career with two saves, a 4.13 ERA, 59 walks and 158 strikeouts in 189 2/3 innings over 160 regular-season games (eight starts) with Kansas City (2021-25) and Milwaukee. He also was 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in five playoff appearances with the Royals in 2024.

–Field Level Media

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach concurred with team owner Clark Hunt, saying that quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ recovery from knee surgery is “ahead of schedule.”

In a Monday interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Veach said, “”I think it wouldn’t surprise you guys, the way it’s been really inspiring just to see — my mind, I’ve been there before with Pat, he had that dislocated knee (in 2019) and worked his tail off and came back in three weeks. I knew that this bump on the road wouldn’t slow him down at all.

“But I mean, this guy has been in the building — especially like a player that has accomplished everything and can do anything he wants. He can hire his own trainers and be wherever he wants; he’s in our building every single day. Even when he goes away for a few days, say, to Dallas for a weekend with his family, he takes one of our trainers with him.

“So, needless to say, he’s way ahead of schedule. I think the biggest challenge that we’re going to have is protecting him from himself. I’m sure when we get to St. Joseph, Missouri, for training camp, he’s gonna want to be full-go, but we are going to have to hold him back a little. And again, I don’t want to put a timetable on it, but I think you guys know the type of person and competitor that Pat is. I would just say, we are in a really good place right now.”

Mahomes, 30, tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee in a Dec. 14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The two-time NFL MVP sat out the rest of the season and the Chiefs (6-11) missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Mahomes has guided the club to five Super Bowl appearances and three championships since being drafted 10th overall out of Texas Tech in 2017. He is 95-31 as a starter in the regular season and 17-4 in the postseason.

Veach expanded upon what Hunt had said at the NFL annual meetings in Phoenix in late March.

“By every indication, Patrick is ahead of schedule, and he’s worked really hard to be ahead of schedule,” Hunt said. “Knowing how that plays out in terms of being ready for contact, I don’t think any of us can speculate. But he’s doing fantastic, and we certainly hope we’re going to bounce back this year. We absolutely think we’re a playoff team again, for sure.”

The Chiefs traded for Justin Fields in March and drafted former LSU signal-caller Garrett Nussmeier in April’s NFL draft. Fields has started 53 games while playing for the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets, while Nussmeier was a seventh round selection after making 23 starts in five seasons in Baton Rouge.

–Field Level Media