Professional golf’s four-year turf war appears close to being over after LIV Golf was dealt hammer blows by America’s PGA Tour and the DP World Tour this week as the rebel league’s tournament was being held in the Midlands of England.

LIV was already reeling from the withdrawal of financier Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, but now the hopes it can continue into 2027 have taken a fresh hit.

On Tuesday, while LIV golfers were playing practice rounds at the JCB course in England, news broke that the Asian Tour was partnering with LIV’s rivals, the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. A new three-tour partnership will see pathways created for players from Asia to the top two levels in Europe, as well as co-sanctioned tournaments.

While LIV is in the market seeking investment for 2027, it was a significant hurdle to jump because the Asian Tour had been a vital stepping stone to LIV.

Originally, the Asian Tour had aligned with LIV in a $US300 million partnership ahead of its 2022 launch, and in turn created the cashed-up “International Series”, which LIV golfers frequently played in.

As a feeder tour, the International Series had also been vital to the promotion and relegation aspect of LIV – its 2026 season featured the top two players from the series’ order of merit list.

As a secondary circuit, the Asian Tour also helped provide LIV with an external pathway for player turnover – an issue that had long been scrutinised during the league’s original pursuit of Official World Golf Ranking recognition.

LIV can still stage its own qualifying school, but building a credible promotion pathway without the Asian Tour now becomes considerably more complex.

The Asian Tour was also important because some of its historic national opens were part of LIV’s future plans.

With LIV’s future under a cloud, Asian Tour chief executive Cho Minn Thant said he had to consider pathways for his member players.

“I think the timing is just right now; it’s all about timing,” Thant said this week. “We’d kept in touch [with the DP World Tour] over all these years. [In 2022], it was right for us to do a partnership with LIV Golf, but given the circumstances now, we’ve had to look at other options. Pathways to different tours are very important for our members.”

After the Asian Tour news, the obstacles mounted for LIV. A report surfaced on Wednesday quoting two-time major winner Martin Kaymer, who captains the Cleeks GC team on LIV, saying that it was “highly unlikely” the $US40 million Team Championships finale in Michigan would go ahead.

Then, on Thursday, the popular social media account Flushing It Golf – which has cultivated considerable access to tour players – published a post after speaking to a host of players at the JCB course.

Flushing It detailed how seven players told the account they plan to exit LIV after the 2026 season, “regardless of whether LIV Golf finds funding”.

A clear pathway back to the PGA Tour was forged this year by former LIV golfers, American Patrick Reed and Eugenio Chacarra from Spain, who departed the league for the DP World Tour.

Reed and Chacarra, who have won multiple times on the DP World Tour this year, are ranked within the top three on its points list and are in line to receive two of the 10 cards on the PGA Tour for 2027 awarded to Europe’s best season-long points earners.

This was followed by revelations that the volume of players from LIV seeking assurances from the DP World Tour about individual playing opportunities for 2027 had increased “significantly” in the past few weeks.

LIV has two more individual tournaments after England, including stops in New Jersey and Indianapolis.

Sports fans now watch on to see what the future holds for a league that was reported to have received $US5 billion from the PIF since its creation in 2022.

LIV disrupted the entire ecosystem of professional golf, luring massive stars such as Bryson DeChambeau, Australia’s own Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and others. The league’s enormous tournament purses and guaranteed roster forced the PGA Tour to keep up via supercharging prizemoney.

There were positive outcomes for fans, including LIV pushing the PGA Tour to streamline its competition structure to entice top players to compete together more often and develop a more innovative TV broadcast. Australia also benefited in receiving the world-class LIV Adelaide tournament.

But ultimately, a league that initially promised “golf, but louder” is struggling to be heard. The next few months will determine whether LIV Golf survives, is radically reinvented, or quietly fades away.