Cam Smith believes the gold rush in golf is coming to an end and that the days of $20 million tournament purses may be going with it.
Speaking to The Mirror, the 2022 Open champion said that kind of money in golf in not sustainable.
"This has been an awesome four or five years for us golfers, for everyone around the world," Smith said Tuesday at LIV Golf Andalucia. "It's changed a lot of things, but I think realistically, it's time for everything to come back to the way it was.
"It was obviously not working, and it's pretty far-fetched, realistically. So we'll see what happens. I'm sure there are going to be a lot of changes, particularly with prize money next year."
LIV Golf is in the process of trying to raise in upwards of $300 million to inject into league operations, and they're also seeking investors for their 13 league teams. LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil is reportedly pitching that the league could be profitable within 20 months if they get the proper capital investment, combined with scaling back costs. There are reports that some LIV Golf players may consider investing their own money back into the league, in exchange for some ownership stake, to keep it alive.
Purses are certainly at the heart of the expense of LIV Golf, with each regular-season event carrying a $30 million purse. The season-ending team event in Michigan has a $50 million purse. Even with the cancellation of the planned event this month in New Orleans, prize money alone still accounts for $410 million in 2026 expenditure. If those purses are halved or cut by two-thirds, as would be expected, then the cost to account for slides dramatically.
For its part, there are questions about the sustainability of the $20 million purses at the PGA Tour's eight Signature events and two FedEx Cup playoff events. The Players has a $25 million purse, and the Tour Championship purse is $40 million. PGA Tour leadership remains optimistic these purses are not only sustainable but could grow in future years, depending on media-rights deals and selling title sponsorships to a new schedule concept that would feature a distinct schedule of events for the best players, while a similarly sized docket of events with smaller purses would be reserved for up-and-coming players.
LIV Golf is also reportedly planning a shorter schedule moving forward, reducing the season from 14 events to 10. In half of those events, the competition would exclusively center around the league's teams, rather than individual competitions with a team component. Critics of the league have said LIV Golf should have led with the team concept to be a truly different offering, but that may have been a near impossible sell to sign players in the first place.
While some players, including the league's most recognizable player in Bryson DeChambeau, have expiring contracts with the circuit, the players who are signed to deals beyond this season are required to play for whatever version of the league emerges in 2027 and beyond -- unless the league folds entirely. Bloomberg has reported LIV Golf has considered moving its assets from a holding company in the United Kingdom over to a similar company for its United States operations, potentially to make it easier to declare bankruptcy and renegotiate outstanding debts, which could include player contracts.
