LIV 2.0 could well be over before it even begins.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund withdrew support from the tour this year, and since then, events have been canceled, and the tour is now bankrupt. The tour hopes to bounce back with what CEO Scott O’Neil called “LIV 2.0”, but things look bleak for the breakaway league.

Players are leaving in droves, including Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann, and Sergio Garcia. Only Richard Bland and Cameron Tringale have committed to LIV for 2027. Not even Bryson DeChambeau, the face of the league, has made an official commitment. 

And things have just gotten even worse for LIV Golf as one of DeChambeau’s Crushers GC teammates has announced he’s jumping ship.

Charles Howell III leaves LIV Golf

Three-time PGA Tour winner Charles Howell III announced he is leaving LIV Golf and plans to join the DP World Tour, like several of his former LIV competitors. The 47-year-old was playing on Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC last season.

The DP World Tour recently announced that LIV players would not be eligible for a DP World Tour membership next year, and that has triggered a mass exodus of LIV players to the tour. The latest among them is Howell III.

The move comes as a relative shock. Unlike Rahm, Garcia, and a number of other players who have joined the DP World Tour from LIV, Howell III has no ties to the tour. He was supportive of LIV Golf throughout all of its financial struggles this year and was expected to stick around for the new version of LIV next season.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that no one is a sure bet to return to LIV Golf next season. Cameron Smith, who seemed to enjoy playing on the tour, is reportedly weighing his options, and players with no Ryder Cup hopes or DP World Tour ties are choosing that tour over LIV.

At this point, it’s hard to imagine LIV can attract enough players to field even a small field in 2027. With two players committed and more leaving day by day, it could all be over.