LIV Golf Mexico City got underway on Thursday, and broadcasters Arlo White and David Feherty took it upon themselves to tell viewers that the many credible reports that the league is losing financial support in the days ahead are untrue.
Surely, this won’t backfire.
At the top of the YouTube broadcast, White told viewers that “reports of the imminent demise of the LIV Golf league were, in fact, greatly exaggerated.”
White told viewers that he’d spoken directly to the CEO and that any concerns had been addressed.
“I’ve had a good chat with LIV CEO Scott O’Neil in the last hour,” said White. “He was very confident about the future, very bullish about the future of the LIV Golf league.”
White then passed the mic to commentator David Feherty, who doubled down on the rhetoric that LIV was doing absolutely great.
“I’ve been in the professional game for 50 years now, and I don’t think I’ve ever had two or three days where there was more absolute nonsense,” said Feherty. “There’s still some writers and broadcasters that take pride in their work, but this generation has spawned a bunch of fast typists that consider themselves to be experts. And evidently they’re not.”
“It must be exhausting trying to will the LIV Golf league out of existence. Take a day off, everybody. Enjoy the golf,” added White before transitioning to the day’s event.
On Tuesday, Monday Q Info’s Ryan French reported that a “bombshell announcement” regarding the league’s future was coming. By Wednesday, the Financial Times reported that the Saudi Arabian government was preparing to pull the plug on its funding of LIV Golf amidst the war in Iran and changing priorities of the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Press appearances were closed ahead of this week’s tournament in Mexico, amidst emergency meetings about the league’s future.
Bret Baier at Fox News and Rex Hoggard at Golf Channel both reported that the league will continue operations through the 2026 season, but there will be no PIF support following the conclusion of this year’s campaign. Hoggard added that O’Neil told players that LIV Golf had the funding to continue through 2026.
It’s hard to imagine so many outlets and credible journalists are wrong on this one, but we’ll give White and Feherty the benefit of the doubt. Let’s check back in on the LIV Golf Mexico City broadcast to see if they have anything else to…. oh.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.