South Australia warns LIV Golf its 2027 Adelaide event faces the axe unless top stars remain, following some high-profile player exits and bankruptcy filing

South Australian Premier bosses have handed a strict warning to LIV Golf, as their popular Adelaide tournament could be axed for 2027.

Twelve years after stepping away from golf in 2014 during a battle with alcohol and drug addiction, Anthony Kim secured an emotional LIV victory in Australia this year. He overcame Spanish star Jon Rahm to win the final round by three strokes but it has been a dramatic year since then for the breakaway series.

PIF announced that it would cease funding after the 2026 season and that has led to several big names announcing plans to depart, most notably Rahm, as well as Tyrrell Hatton, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Adrian Meronk, and Lucas Herbert.

Adding to the league's troubles, Adelaide officials have now issued an ultimatum regarding LIV Golf's 2027 calendar, which is down to only 10 proposed events. It follows the DP World Tour's declaration banning all LIV players from participating in its tournaments starting in 2027.

“It’s tricky,” South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas told SEN radio. “LIV Golf are officially telling us that they are all systems to be back here. But we are monitoring it pretty closely. What’s happening with the players is going to be the most instructive outcome here.”

The event was compared to the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, as the Adelaide event previously attracted a crowd of 115,000.

“It’s very important to us that they keep the likes of Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau in that playing roster; that underpins the success of the event. That’s something we are monitoring closely just to see how it unfolds,” continued Malinauskas.

“We’re not going to go through with LIV unless they put on the standard of events they have put on in the past, which has been truly exceptional. We’re going to know for sure in the next two to three weeks.”

DeChambeau and Smith have yet to announce the plans for their future, as DeChambeau once said he’d love to grow his YouTube platform three times and Smith noted that he would attempt to re-join the PGA Tour if LIV Golf were to fold.

"I think, from my perspective, I'd love to grow my YouTube channel three times, maybe even more," DeChambeau said in May.

"I would love to. I'd love to do a bunch of dubbing in different languages, giving the world more reason to watch YouTube. And then I'd love to play tournaments that want me."

Smith has been nearly silent from the media recently and DeChambeau has been seen on recent digital spaces without his Crushers GC gear on.