LIV Golf broadcast chaos as Mexico stream fails after just five shots

LIV Golf’s opening round in Mexico City was thrown into disarray on Thursday after a prolonged broadcast outage left fans unable to watch large portions of the action at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

The live telecast, available for U.S. viewers via the Fox Sports app and LIV Golf’s YouTube channel, went down roughly 20 minutes after coverage began. 

After showing just five shots, viewers were greeted by a “Please stand by. Technical issues” message. 

LIV Golf fans were left without any live action of the first round of LIV Golf Mexico City for close to two hours. 

A local power outage was reportedly been blamed for the loss of live pictures.

"We know many of you were tuning in, and we’re sorry for the disruption," read a statement from LIV Golf.

"We’re experiencing technical difficulties due to local power outages which is impacting our broadcast feed.

"We’re working on a resolution and hope to be back on air as soon as possible."

TNT Sports viewers in the U.K. were presented with highlights from the final round of LIV Golf Singapore, which took place last month. 

The live feed eventually returned at 6pm E.T. 

The disruption comes at a sensitive moment for the Saudi-backed circuit, following widespread reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to withdraw financial support from the league past this season.

Those claims, first amplified earlier this week by American golf reporter Ryan French, were subsequently reported by major outlets including the Financial Times and Fox News.

While LIV Golf has not confirmed the reports, CEO Scott O’Neil attempted to reassure players and staff in an internal message, insisting the league will continue through the 2026 season. The memo did not address speculation beyond that timeframe.

Against that backdrop, Thursday’s technical failure proved particularly ill-timed, with global attention already fixed on the league.

LIV Golf had struck a defiant tone on social media just 24 hours earlier, posting: “Slow news day? We are ON.” 

However, the broadcast issues quickly undercut that message as frustrated viewers took to social media to vent.

Some fans responded with humour. 

“I know some people said the PIF would pull the plug, but didn’t think they meant literally,” one user wrote. 

Another joked: “Has anyone got 50p for the meter?”

One wrote: “You really should go to LIV YouTube chat. There is no golf but the chat is amazing.”

Coverage briefly returned with a live camera shot before dropping out again, leaving viewers without consistent access for over two hours. 

We can assure you first-round action in Mexico is going on, even if you can't watch any of it - keep up to speed with live scores here

Before the outage, the broadcast team had addressed the swirling PIF rumours directly. 

As expected, lead commentator Arlo White dismissed reports of LIV Golf’s demise as “greatly exaggerated,” while analyst David Feherty criticised sections of the media for spreading “absolute nonsense.”

Watch their comments here:

On the course at Club de Golf Chapultepec, there was at least one standout moment before the feed issues escalated, with Joaquin Niemann carding a hole-in-one after starting his round on the fourth hole.