"Better next year": Niemann still bullish on LIV's future amid funding concerns

Questions hang heavy as ever over the future of LIV Golf ahead of its UK event at the JCB Country Club this week, but Joaquín Niemann appears more confident in the breakaway golf league's future than most.

Niemann currently sits third in LIV's individual standings, with Jon Rahm (whose own future with LIV remains uncertain) once again clear at the head of the pack as he searches for his third successive solo title.

There are more prominent questions as to LIV's near-term future, however, as it continues its search for fresh investment following the Saudi Arabian PIF's announcement that it will cease bankrolling the tour at the end of the 2026 season.

As a team captain and one of the competition's most successful solo players, Niemann has taken on a more prominent leadership position within LIV's player base. While Niemann is set for life after taking a reported $100 million bonus to join the league, his route back to the PGA Tour would be less than clear should the league fail.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the $20 million UK tournament this weekend, Niemann, who missed the cut at the weekend's Open Championship, gave a cagey reply when asked whether LIV's directors had indicated that any progress had been made towards securing new funding.

"Yeah, we had a nice meeting yesterday, as we always do almost every week," he said. "Scott and his team are always trying to inform and let us know what they're doing the best he can possibly communicate with us, and we're always trying to get feedback on our opinions and thoughts on how to have a better product and hopefully have something bigger and better for next year."

LIV's UK event comes at an intriguing time, and fresh in the wake of the announcement that the Asian Tour, which received a $200 million investment from LIV to become its a key feeder organisation, is re-partnering with the DP World Tour and PGA Tour to ‌establish a formal pathway for its players to Tour Membership for the next three years.

Niemann, however, has insisted it hasn't given him any added concerns over the league's future player base. "Yeah, it doesn't affect anything on my side. I feel like it's great what is happening. We all know that we opened the door to a lot more golf around the world, and I think what they're doing, the alliance is definitely going to help to grow the game all over the world. Yeah, it's great news, I think, for golf."

Niemann also joined the growing calls for players who remain loyal to LIV to receive equity in the league as it restructures going forward. "I think there's a lot of fans out there that they deserve this kind of tournament, this kind of field, these kind of players, and we've done it great so far. It's now time to restructure a little bit things and make it better.

Regardless, when asked if he envisions himself returning as a team captain for 2027, his response was pretty firm. "Mm-hmm, yeah."