Watch: LIV Golf boss refuses to answer direct question over league's future

LIV Golf chief executive Scott O'Neil turned heads during an appearance on CNBC when he refused to guarantee whether the league's final four events of the season will be played. 

The breakaway tour faces an uncertain future after its primary backer, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), confirmed in April they are no longer willing to finance the venture at the conclusion of the 2026 season. 

LIVl have moved quickly to try and secure fresh investment by appointing new board members and hiring investment bank, Ducera Partners, to help raise capital. 

It is understood O'Neil officially took LIV 2.0 to the market last week and is seeking $250m-350m. 

But it has become abundantly clear in recent days that LIV faces a race against time to secure its future. 

Front Office Sports have reported the PIF may even turn off the spigot sooner than anticipated, with one executive telling the publication that it remains to be seen whether the final four events of the 2026 campaign will even be played. 

"Every tournament is on the fence," the unnamed exec said. 

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Asked if he could guarantee their stops in the United Kingdom and the United States would go ahead, O'Neil said: "What I can guarantee is a heck of a return if you come invest in this business."

O'Neil stressed that LIV doesn't have "a lot of time" to find investors.

The former NBA executive also made it clear that should LIV get private funding then the league would operate much differently than it does today. 

“We're cutting the expense side dramatically, and the revenue momentum that we’ve had ... we're already up $100 million over last year, so we have really good business momentum. 

"This is about getting the costs under control, reimagining what the business could, should and will look like, and then engaging our players as partners, like true equity partners in this business.”

In an interview with the Financial Times in February, O'Neil made the stark admission that he believed LIV would likely need another decade to turn a profit, even with the PIF's backing. 

But he believes LIV 2.0 will be able to reach profitability within three years. 

Conservative estimates suggest the PIF has invested more than $6bn on LIV to date. 

O'Neil told CNBC that he had five meetings with prospective investors this week and has 18 more scheduled.

"We have incredible business momentum," O'Neil said. "What we don't have is a lot of time. 

"So we're very urgently out there talking to those who are interested. We like the pool, but we have to get this done through the summer."

The next LIV Golf tournament is scheduled to take place at JCB Golf & Country Club in Rocester, England, over 23-26 July. 

The three final events, including the team championship, will take place in the United States in August.