LIV Golf suffers major blow amid string of success ahead of 2026 season


LIV Golf’s 2026 season is set to begin in a few weeks, and before that, the league has encountered some setbacks with the departure of Brooks Koepka and alleged failure of negotiations with Akshay Bhatia. The Separatist Tour might have benefited from some temporary relief in the middle after re-signing several pros from LIV, but has now suffered another setback.

LIV Golf recently re-signed Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sam Horsfield. Reports also indicated that 2024 Australian PGA Championship winner Elvis Smylie and 2025 WM Phoenix Open winner Thomas Detry would join the league. Apart from that, the top three golfers from the promotional event, Richard T. Lee, Bjorn Hellgren and Antoine Kimwill play on LIV as wildcards.

However, LIV Golf was recently dealt a major blow after James Watson, the league’s leading production figure for four years, announced his departure. Watson was also instrumental in innovating the Saudi PIF-backed golf league broadcasts. Josh Carpenter shared the news on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:

“James Watson, who has led LIV Golf’s production efforts since its inception, says he has left the league ahead of the 2026 season…”

Take a look at Carpenter’s post X here:

For the uninitiated, Watson was formerly SVP of Global Production at LIV for Media. In April, the hard work of Watson and his team was recognized after the league’s official application “Any photo, any time” This feature earned the tour the 2025 Sports Technology Award for Best Use of Fan Engagement Technology. With the departure of Watson and his lead producer, Keith Hirshland, Everwonder Studio will take over production of LIV.

A sneak peek at LIV Golf’s new production partner and more

Mike Antinoro and Ian Orefice, the former president of TIME and TIME Studios, run Everwonder Studio. The studio is expected to resume production of the Saudi PIF-backed golf league when it opens the season in Riyadh in February 2026.

Everwonder Studio is also backed by Jeff Zucker, who served as president of CNN and NBCUniversal. The studio, which has been behind trending sporting events like the Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul fight, also produced “The Showdown” between PGA Tour pros and LIV golfers, as well as the recent Games from the Optum Golf channel.

According to another report from Sports Business Journal, veteran golf producer Mark Loomis, who has worked with Fox Sports and GOLF Channel, is in talks with the league to be involved in the broadcasts alongside Everwonder Studio. Loomis has worked with the studio before, as he was coordinating producer of Golf Channel Games.