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The 10 Saddest Moments in LIV Golf History, Including Bryson DeChambeau Being Attacked by a Rope

Andy Nesbitt|
Bryson DeChambeau will never forget his embarrassing moment at LIV Golf Chicago in 2022.
Bryson DeChambeau will never forget his embarrassing moment at LIV Golf Chicago in 2022. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

LIV Golf is in Indianapolis this week for the last event of its 2026 season, and quite possibly the final event of its existence.

While the Saudi-funded (for just a few days longer) golf league is doing everything it can behind closed doors to try and raise new money to possibly stay afloat next year, the current crop of players are finishing up what was been an embarrassing few months for LIV Golf. Millions of dollars will be handed out on Sunday, champagne will be sprayed on the winners and memories that will last a few hours will be made.

NESBITT: Rory McIlroy Had a Brutally Honest Line About LIV Golf’s Best Players. And He Wasn’t Wrong.

With LIV Golf limping to the possible end of a short-lived era, let’s take a look at the saddest moments since it started in 2022.

Bryson DeChambeau gets attacked by a rope at LIV Golf Chicago in 2022

This list has to start with one of the funniest moments in golf history. Bryson DeChambeau was trying to make his way back to the fairway during the final round of LIV Golf Chicago in 2022 when a rope had other plans. This clip went viral when it happened and still pops up every few months because it’s just so absurd.

A flash mob kicks off LIV Golf London in 2023

One of LIV Golf’s strangest slogans since its inception in 2022 has been “Golf, but louder.” You see, the league thought it could change the sport by playing music during the rounds and having fans get loud, despite the fact that fans have been loud at PGA Tour events for years. In 2023 LIV Golf took that to whole new level of cringe when a flash mob broke out before the start of the first round of a tournament in London.

How’d that go? Just as awkwardly as you would expect:

Phil Mickelson gets embarrassed by Anthony Kim

One of the nicest stories from the LIV Golf-era has been the return of Anthony Kim. The former PGA Tour star basically disappeared for 12 years before landing a spot on LIV Golf. He understandably got off to a rough start in the beginning of his return. In the first round of his second event back in 2024 he had a better score (76) than just one player. That player? None other than Phil Mickelson, who opened with an 80 and finished the tournament T52 out of 54 players.

Talor Gooch compares LIV Golf atmosphere to the Ryder Cup

Talor Gooch, who had played on the PGA Tour for five years, went viral back in 2022 for a ridiculous comment he made after his Four Aces team won LIV Golf Portland.

“I haven’t played a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, but I can’t imagine there’s a whole hell of a lot of difference,” said Gooch, who won only one time on the PGA Tour. “This was as cool as it gets. We’ve been saying it all week. The energy is just different, it’s awesome.”

Sure it was, Talor.

LIV Golf announcers embarrass themselves by mocking reports (that later proved to be true) about the league’s financial struggles

In the days before the start of LIV Golf Mexico City last April reports surfaced that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia was soon going cut off its funding of the league.

NESBITT: LIV Golf Is Falling Apart in the Most Embarrassing of Ways, According to New Reports

That led to LIV Golf announcers Arlo White and David Feherty chastising those reports in a hilarious moment before the first round.

“David, I’m delighted to report that the reports of the imminent demise of the LIV Golf league were, in fact, greatly exaggerated,” White said. “I had a good chat with LIV CEO Scott O’Neil in the last hour and he was very confident about the future, very bullish about the future of the LIV Golf league.” 

Feherty was quick to back up his broadcast partner.

"I've been in the professional game for 50 years now and I don't think I've ever had two or three days where there was more absolute nonsense spread out," Feherty said. "There are still some writers and broadcasters that take pride in their work, but this generation has spawned fast typists that consider themselves to be experts, and evidently, they're not."

Welp, turns out those reports were not “greatly exaggerated” but instead turned out to be completely accurate.

Scott O’Neil laughs in the face of a small business that is suing LIV Golf for $1.23 million

Earlier this week Front Office Sports reported a number of contractors and vendors are owed lots of money by LIV Golf. One of those companies, Fresh Tape Media, is suing LIV Golf for $1.23 million, saying, “We worked with a lot of great people at and are proud of what our team produced. This isn’t about the work or the people we collaborated with. It’s pretty simple: when a small business does the work, it deserves to be paid for it.”

O’Neil was asked about that on Wednesday and his answer was pretty pathetic.

“Look, I come from a family of entrepreneurs, a family of small business entrepreneurs and know the challenge that that is,” O’Neil said. “So what I would say to them is we’re doing everything we can to make sure we can do right by them and the work they committed, and I hope we can. For the next generation, it will certainly be a different business with a different process.”

Bryson DeChambeau throws a fit over playing conditions at LIV Golf Mexico City

DeChambeau had another embarrassing moment earlier this year when he yelled at a rules official over the conditions of the course in Mexico City. It all happened after he tried to get relief following a bad bunker shot that landed in the greenside rough.

Safe to say DeChambeau was not happy about that.

That was not a good look for either DeChambeau or LIV Golf.

Phil Mickelson’s tweet about LIV Golf’s moves that never happened

Mickelson has had a lot of bad tweets over the years but this one from 2023 in which he bragged about LIV Golf’s strategy for the long game is quite laughable considering where the league stands right now.

Turns out it never gets “REALLY good” for LIV Golf.

Jon Rahm gets mad at fans for being loud, even though LIV Golf’s slogan is “Golf, but louder”

Jon Rahm made the jump to LIV Golf in 2023 thinking he could be the big piece that brings the league together with the PGA Tour. That never happened and now his future in the sport is a cloudy one as he’s still under contract with LIV Golf for a few more years and is owed upwards of $150 million.

Rahm had a tense moment at LIV Golf UK in 2024 when some fans in the crowd got loud before one of his shots. That is the atmosphere that the league promotes, but it was clear that Rahm didn’t love it.

Sergio Garcia throws a disgusting fit at the Masters

This didn’t happen at a LIV Golf event but it’s easily the most disgusting moment from one its players. Sergio Garcia was not happy after hitting a bad tee shot in the final round of the 2026 Masters and proceeded to slam his driver into the ground and then broke his club when he hit a cooler with it.

That shouldn’t happen anywhere, but especially not at Augusta National. A rules official confronted Garcia moments later and issued him a code of conduct warning.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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