PGA Tour-LIV Golf war could be ready to explode with 2026 free-agent frenzy

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OAKMONT, Pa. — Expect another big shakeup in the world of professional golf next year.

With numerous LIV Golf contracts set to expire at the end of next season, 2026 could be a seismic season for the future of the game.

Between now and the end of the next LIV Golf season, players and the league’s Saudi-backers will have some important decisions to make. And so will the PGA Tour.

Many of LIV’s top golfers will have to decide whether they are happy where they are and whether they are ready to once again commit their future to a rival tour that made them unfathomably rich, but in many ways is still trying to gain traction with golf fans and sponsors.

On Tuesday at the U.S. Open in Oakmont, Bryson DeChambeau became the first top player to openly discuss this future.

“Yeah, next year is when it ends,” DeChambeau said of his LIV contract. “We’re looking to negotiate end of this year and I’m very excited. They see the value in me. I see the value in what they can provide and I believe we’ll come to some sort of resolution on that.”

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DeChambeau is unique among LIV players as he is likely the only one who has raised his profile and status in the game — largely through his wild success on YouTube — since leaving the PGA Tour.

“Super excited for the future. I think that LIV is not going anywhere. (Yasir Al-Rumayyan) has been steadfast in his belief on team golf and whether everybody believes in it or not, I think it’s a viable option,” DeChambeau said.

DeChambeau also said that his Crushers team is growing in the right direction financially and that some teams are now making money.

“How it all works with the game of golf, who knows, but I know my worth. I know what LIV brings to the table. And I’m excited for the future of what golf is going to be.”

Al-Rumayyan, the money man behind LIV Golf, will also have to decide whether the golf league he clearly has a passion for is accomplishing its goals, or is at least on the path to eventual success. And he’ll also have to decide whether another billion dollars or so of athlete contracts (Bryson won’t come cheap) is a bridge too far, for, what has so far been, very questionable returns.

If the goal was to shake up the game of golf, that has been accomplished. The real goal, however, always has been to get Saudi money and Saudi influence into the North American sports mega-complex, namely with PGA Tour’s mega-sponsors and perhaps even NFL owners.

That goal seemed close to being achieved with the PGA Tour-LIV Golf framework deal and, with NFL owners such as Arthur Blank and Rob Walton cozying up to the sport and investing in golf’s simulator league TGL.

But recently, the PGA Tour seems possibly willing to forge ahead with American investment alone which could, theoretically, be giving the Saudis a reason to re-think things.

For the PGA Tour, the slow playing of the entire situation could help its cause. And the absolute No. 1 item on commissioner Jay Monahan’s agenda should be meeting with top players and coming to terms on a clear path for LIV golfers to return to the fold.

There will be plenty of hard feelings and big bruised egos to negotiate, but giving LIV players another option is paramount if the PGA Tour is going to choose war.

There are plenty of possible scenarios ahead, but none of them point toward a quiet 2026 in the world of golf.