Sports
LIV Golf captain says team championship 'highly unlikely' to take place
Cleeks captain Martin Kaymer believes LIV Golf’s team championship for 2026 is in peril. Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer said it is “highly unlikely” that next month’s team championship will take place amid LIV Golf’s pursuit of investors to keep the league going in 2027.
The league returned Thursday for the opening round of LIV Golf United Kingdom following a hiatus since early June due to the indefinite postponement of its inaugural New Orleans event. Kaymer said he believes the final two individual events of 2026 will take place, but he put a 5% chance on the season-ending team championship going forward in Plymouth, Mich.
The league is seeking funding for next season after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced that it would be withdrawing its financial support. Kaymer said the players remain in the dark about the league’s future as CEO Scott O’Neil attempts to secure funding, reported to be $350 million.
A decision about the team event is reportedly expected to be made by Tuesday.
“There was a conversation on Wednesday: Michigan, highly unlikely. According to (the discussion on) Wednesday, it didn’t look good,” Kaymer, the captain of Cleeks GC, told Today’s Golfer.
“We were hoping for a bit more information (from the meeting). We got the information, but we were more looking for decisions or what is happening next year.
“Unfortunately, even Scott can’t tell us because he doesn’t know. It depends so much on the investors.”
Kaymer was aware of the Golf Channel report this week that there have been talks of turning the final individual event in Indianapolis into a team event instead.
“I think that would be a shame that we get reduced even more individual tournaments,” Kaymer said. “On the other hand, how do you want to have a team winning the whole season if you don’t have a team event? We need to be honest. The whole season was a bit of a … there was so much happening. Yeah.
“Canceled New Orleans. Canceled most likely the last event. So I think it’s important to just finish the season and hopefully we’ll have a plan for 2027.”
Individual points leader Jon Rahm said earlier this week that he was “in contact” with the decision-makers as LIV seeks to find a funding stream but added that in terms of details there were none “I can share with you guys right now.”
LIV suffered another blow this week with the Asian Tour announcing that it will align with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. The Asian Tour currently serves as a feeder circuit, including a lucrative set of events called the International Series that has offered pathways to LIV.
Minus the Asian Tour partnership, LIV would no longer be able to pursue the concept of a reimagined league built around national opens.
Golf Digest reported Thursday that LIV players who are also DP World Tour members have been having “regular discussions” with the European circuit about 2027. According to the report, there are other players who are not current DP World Tour members who are exploring their options for next year as well, including the possibility of playing on the tour’s developmental circuit, the HotelPlanner Tour.
A report by Flushing It said that seven players told the social media golf outlet they plan to leave LIV Golf following the 2026 season regardless of whether the league secures new funding or not.
According to the report, O’Neil held a meeting with the team captains this week after the Asian Tour news broke but was unable to provide many details on the state of the funding search.
“I think there’s a lot of interest and it’s looking good,” said Kaymer, a 41-year-old German. “But we’ve all been there. If the signature is not there, then it doesn’t mean anything.
“In the end, if those investors decide to pull out, then we don’t play golf next year on LIV Golf. And if they decide to do it, then we have a chance.”
Following this week’s event at JCB Golf & Country Club in Rocester, England, LIV is due to play at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster (N.J.) from Aug. 6-9 and at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Ind., from Aug. 20-23. The team championship is slated for Aug. 27-30 at The Cardinal at Saint John’s in Plymouth, Mich.
–Field Level Media
Sports
St. Louis City aim for 7-game points streak vs. Rapids
Jul 22, 2026; Carson, California, USA; St. Louis CITY SC goalkeeper Roman Burki (1) reacts against LA Galaxy during the second half at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Griffin Hooper-Imagn Images St. Louis City SC will try to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches when the Colorado Rapids visit on Saturday.
St. Louis is 5-0-1 over its last six regular-season games, in a streak that began with a 1-0 victory over the Rapids on May 9. After scoring only 13 times in their first 13 games of the season, St. Louis City (6-6-4, 22 points) have tallied three goals in each of their last three matches.
While it took a while for the offensive progress to emerge, midfielder Chris Durkin felt his team has had “a sense of direction and structure” all season.
“We were producing good moments, but we just couldn’t get those over the line,” Durkin said. “And now that the ball is going in the back of the net, there’s a level of expectation when we get on the field that, ‘Hey, we can get something out of this.'”
That “expectation” has spread over the whole roster, as Durkin noted that “a lot of people are chipping in to help” the attack. Marcel Hartel leads St. Louis with five goals, but 13 different players have scored at least one goal.
Midfielder Conrad Wallem is available Saturday after missing the Galaxy match due to concussion protocol.
The Rapids (6-9-1, 19 points) are hoping to emulate St. Louis’ string of consistent results. Colorado hasn’t collected points in consecutive regular-season games since Feb. 28-March 7.
The stirring nature of Wednesday’s 1-0 win over San Diego FC might be the spark Colorado has needed. Playing in his first MLS match, defender Loic Williams scored the deciding goal six minutes into second-half stoppage time.
“To get a clean sheet, a win and to also score a last-second winner … you can’t ask for anything better than that,” goalkeeper Nico Hansen said. “So of course you know the vibes and the morale was very good in the locker room after.”
Wayne Frederick and Miguel Navarro are available Saturday after being suspended for the San Diego match. Frederick returns to action with a new contract, as the midfielder signed an extension Friday that will keep him in Colorado through at least the 2029-30 season.
Rafael Navarro leads the Rapids with eight goals. Frederick, Paxten Aaronson and Dante Sealy share the team lead with five assists apiece.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Top goal scorer Petar Musa, Dallas seek first win over San Diego
Jul 22, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; FC Dallas offense Petar Musa (9) and Portland Timbers defense Brandon Bye (5) battle for the ball in the second half at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images FC Dallas will attempt to defeat San Diego FC for the first time when the teams match up Saturday night in Southern California.
Dallas’ trip to San Diego last season was highly forgettable as it was drubbed 5-0 by the then-expansion franchise.
San Diego posted a 3-2 road win over Dallas last season and the two teams played to a 3-3 tie in Frisco, Texas, earlier this season.
In this year’s match, Dallas star Petar Musa scored the tying goal in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to complete a hat trick.
Musa scored a second-half goal in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw against the host Portland Timbers, in the team’s first match after the two-month break for the World Cup. He is officially tied for the league lead with 13 goals but now stands alone as the leader after Chicago transferred Hugo Cuypers (also with 13) to Monterrey of Liga MX on Thursday.
Patrickson Delgado scored in first-half stoppage time for the other goal for Dallas (7-4-5, 26 points), which is tied for fourth place in the Western Conference.
“We know from the first half of the season we can beat anybody,” Dallas head coach Eric Quill told reporters earlier this week. “There’s no question about who we are.”
San Diego (4-7-5, 17 points) has struggled most of the campaign after surprisingly winning the West in its first season. The club is tied for 13th in the 15-team conference entering Saturday’s play.
The resumption of play after the break continued their issues. Colorado’s Loic Williams scored in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to give the Rapids a 1-0 home win over San Diego.
San Diego head coach Mikey Varas wore a brave face after the match.
“We got a game in three days,” Varas said to reporters, “so we have to get our legs and minds and our body right and then turn this around really quick.”
Marcus Ingvartsen leads San Diego with 11 goals.
San Diego made a move to spruce up the attack Friday by signing Tunisia World Cup starter Elias Achouri through the 2028-29 season.
The 27-year-old forward still needs to get a visa before he can play for San Diego. He started all three of Tunisia’s group play matches in the World Cup.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Elite at home, Real Salt Lake go for elusive road win vs. Timbers
May 9, 2026; Frisco, Texas, USA; Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna (10) dribbles the ball against FC Dallas midfielder Kaick (55) during the first half at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images Real Salt Lake returned from the World Cup break hoping to prove they could win on the road.
After a 3-1 loss Wednesday at Los Angeles FC, they’ll get another chance Saturday night at Portland.
RSL (8-5-2, 26 points) is just 1-4-2 in away matches, the lone win coming 3-2 at Atlanta United on March 7.
“I don’t think it’s a secret,” RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “Obviously there’s a huge advantage to playing at home in this league and it’s very difficult to win on the road. Given that we’re going to have a lot of road games coming up, it’ll really stress us in that department, challenge us.”
After Saturday’s stop, RSL will wrap up a three-game trip next Saturday in St. Louis.
“Three games away in a row is a good chance for us to turn a narrative around,” said 19-year-old midfielder Zavier Gozo, whose six goals are tied with Sergi Solans for the team lead. “We struggle to win away, so I think it’s a good opportunity to show we can win away.”
Gozo scored in the previous meeting with Portland this season, May 2 in Sandy, Utah. He and Diego Luna scored first-half goals, Juan Manuel Sanabria had a pair of assists and goalkeeper Rafael Cabral kept a clean sheet with two saves. The hosts outshot Portland 25-11, with a 15-2 edge in attempts on target. Timbers goalie James Pantemis made a franchise-record 13 saves.
The Timbers (5-8-3, 18 points) are coming off a 2-2 draw with visiting FC Dallas on Wednesday, as Felipe Mora scored the equalizer in second-half stoppage time. Kevin Kelsy also tallied for Portland, his team-high eighth of the season.
“I think when you have this many games in tight in a week … you just focus on the next game,” said Timbers interim coach Jack Cassidy, who is 1-0-1 — including a 5-1 victory at Seattle — as the club waits for new coach Marti Cifuentes to sort out his visa.
–Field Level Media
St. Louis City aim for 7-game points streak vs. Rapids
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