LIV Golf pro: Battle for survival "taking its toll" on CEO Scott O'Neil

LIV Golf's battle for survival is taking a toll on the league's chief executive Scott O'Neil, according to Charles Howell III.

O'Neil announced two weeks ago that LIV Golf had secured an unnamed lead investor to keep the competition running in 2027 after the withdrawal of Saudi Arabian financial backing.

The former NBA executive said a signed agreement was in place and had been approved by LIV's board, with the transaction expected to be finalised next month.

LIV Golf's entire roster attended a meeting with the proposed new investor - understood to be the London-based private equity firm BC Partners - on Tuesday afternoon ahead of their season finale in Indianapolis.

Once again, several players were tight-lipped about what was discussed inside the Chatham Hills clubhouse.

But Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers teammate, Howell, told The Athletic: "I think we're still trying to figure it all out, to be honest.

"Because, and I'm not meaning to be vague or whatever, we just don't know. We don't know anything.

"I know Scott's worked incredibly hard, and you can see it on his face and him that it’s obviously taking a toll."

O'Neil is scheduled to address the media at 1pm on Wednesday afternoon.

No other LIV Golf players have been scheduled to take part in pre-tournament news conferences.

Howell added: "But yeah, fitting into the world of pro golf isn’t maybe the easiest thing to do. I think we're all still waiting for a bit of clarity."

The 47-year-old also confirmed reports that LIV players are yet to be paid tournament winnings from their last event in New York, but added nobody is worried about not getting paid.

Whilst Howell was cautious with his words, Phil Mickelson's HyFlyers teammate Brendan Steele said he is committed to LIV Golf whatever form it takes beyond this season.

He told ESPN: "I think there's a lot of excitement in the room.

"I think getting the players to be comfortable with how we want to move forward, I think, is the most important thing.

"It's just a different way of looking at how we've been operating.

"I think there's a lot of things that we can do that haven't been optimized.

"[The investor has] just got a great vision for what we want to do and how to move this thing forward, and it's just, like, new life has kind of been breathed into it."

The aforementioned DeChambeau declined to talk to reporters.

Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia, who recently confirmed exclusively to GolfMagic that he will return to the DP World Tour next season, told the publication "we'll see" when asked about his future.

"There's a lot of things being talked about, and we're working through it," he said.

Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer said: "The investor is excited, but obviously, there's a few things that need to be figured out.

"It's still early to tell what next year will look like, but they're working very hard to get more specifics."