LIV Golf makes major prize-money cuts after scrapping team event

LIV Golf and its players continue to face financial headwinds, with the league announcing dramatic cuts to prize money for the current LIV Golf Indianapolis event, just one day after confirming the cancellation of next week's LIV Team Championship. The Indianapolis tournament, originally slated as the Individual Championship, will now also serve as the venue for deciding the team champions.

However, LIV stars will be competing for considerably less money than originally planned. This reduction comes on top of extensive purse cuts previously announced at the start of the season.

LIV Golf Reveals Reduced Team Purses for Season Finale

Just before the 2026 LIV Golf season commenced, the league announced a reduction in prize money for both the season-ending Individual and Team Championships. The bonus pool for the Individual Championship, which had been $30 million in previous seasons, was set to be only $10 million for 2026, a massive drop of $20 million. The Individual champion was slated to receive $6 million, down from $18 million. Second-place prize money was reduced from $8 million to $3 million, and third place from $4 million to $1 million.

The Team Championship bonus pool had also been reduced before the season opener, from $50 million to $40 million.

Canceled Finale and Further Payout Reductions

On Monday, following weeks of reports, LIV Golf officially announced the cancellation of the Team Championship. The 2026 Team Championship, originally scheduled for next week in Michigan, will now be decided at this week's LIV Indianapolis event, alongside the Individual champion.

While both bonus pools will be paid out at LIV Indianapolis, the total amount of money distributed by the league will be significantly less, according to payouts listed in the event’s media guide. The bonus pool for the Individual Championship will remain at the reduced $10 million figure. However, the Team Championship bonus pool will be cut by an additional $10 million.

Instead of playing for $40 million in bonuses split among the top three teams (down from $50 million in 2025), the leading teams will now share only $30 million. The winning team’s bonus has been cut from $11.2 million to $8.4 million. The runners-up will now receive $4.8 million instead of $6.5 million, and third place will earn $3.6 million, down from $4.8 million.

For context, last year’s LIV Team champion Legion XIII received a total of $14 million in bonus money: $8.4 million to the team and $1.4 million to each of the four players on the winning team. This year, the $8.4 million figure for the team remains the same, but individual players will not receive an additional bonus.

Individual Payouts Also Reduced

All players in the field will compete for a separate $10.1 million purse specific to the LIV Indianapolis event, but this figure is also reduced from last year. In 2025, Sebastian Munoz earned $4 million for winning LIV Indianapolis, while Jon Rahm took home $2.25 million for second place. In 2026, the winner will earn only $2.02 million, with the runner-up receiving $1.136 million.

These prize money reductions come as LIV Golf is fighting for its survival. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced it was pulling all funding from LIV Golf. Since then, the league has been attempting to convince investors to finance its future and retain its star players for next season.