LIV Golf is facing a matter of days that could determine whether the league has a future. Still, Thomas Detry says those delicate discussions have been complicated by a leak from a private player group chat.
The Belgian golfer described the person responsible as a “rat” while discussing the uncertainty surrounding LIV following its bankruptcy filing and the effort to construct a new version of the league.
For Detry, the turmoil comes less than a year after he decided to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. Despite everything that has happened since, including the loss of Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion-dollar financial backing, the 33-year-old insists he does not regret the move.
“I’ve had one of the best years of my life,” Detry told Today’s Golfer ahead of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. “For my golf, it’s been great. For my lifestyle, it’s been even better. My wife and the kids are really happy.”
His results have helped. Detry has recorded seven top-10 finishes in 12 LIV starts and earned more than $11 million in prize money. He acknowledged that LIV fields do not have the same depth as those on the PGA Tour, but argued that the strength at the top makes high finishes difficult.
He has also enjoyed traveling and competing alongside Dustin Johnson and childhood friend Thomas Pieters.
LIV Golf’s $300 Million Lifeline
The question now is whether that experience can continue.
LIV is attempting to salvage a reworked league, reportedly consisting of 10 events, through a potential $300 million agreement with lead investor BC Partners. The deal depends in part on securing commitments from enough prominent players. Players have reportedly been offered non-binding agreements to gauge interest in continuing with the league.
“It’s obviously a shock for everybody, but we knew it was coming,” Detry said of the bankruptcy.
He expressed confidence in BC Partners and suggested a rebuilt league could correct problems from LIV’s original model.
“They clearly see the value in the teams, and they see the value in this league,” Detry said. “So now it looks like it could be something really great again. Obviously, they’ve made some mistakes with LIV 1.0, and hopefully, they can rectify that and work on it.”
Yet players remain in a holding pattern as negotiations continue.
Detry Says There’s a ‘Rat’ in LIV’s Group Chat
According to Detry, LIV executive Scott O’Neil has been keeping players informed through a private group chat. The problem is that information from those conversations apparently has not remained private for long.
“Scott keeps communications very open,” Detry said. “We’ve got a player group chat. It seems like there’s a rat in there.”
Detry said information intended to remain among the players has repeatedly found its way outside the group.
“It seems like we’re just trying to keep all the stuff between us, and it seems like most of the stuff is being released out there all the time quite quickly,” he explained. “So it’s not easy to keep confidential things confidential.”
He stressed that the leaked information has not fundamentally altered LIV’s situation, but the apparent breach of trust has nevertheless frustrated him.
“None of this stuff that was leaked is really game-changing,” Detry said. “But still, we’re trying to keep something confidential in the group. And the idea that someone might transfer it to the media, to someone else, is not really fun to know.”
Those internal concerns are only one part of a much larger decision facing Detry and his LIV colleagues.
His position is particularly complicated because his 2025 season, including a maiden PGA Tour victory at the WM Phoenix Open, had placed him in a strong position for lucrative Signature Events. With his move to LIV and the league’s subsequent problems, that path is no longer straightforward.
“I would love to stay,” Detry said of LIV. “I really enjoy LIV. But we’ll see what happens.”
Detry Faces Another Golf Decision in Europe
There is another complication in Europe. The DP World Tour is resuming a tougher approach toward dual members, with conditional releases that protected several LIV golfers from suspensions and fines this season not expected to continue next year.
Players considering signing with a reconstructed LIV league therefore have more than one calculation to make. Committing to LIV 2.0 could also affect anyone hoping to maintain a substantial DP World Tour schedule.
Detry has yet to determine exactly what he will do.
“If you told me now that I could play anywhere in the world and LIV, I would be 100% in for LIV and fill in my schedule with some majors and DP World Tour events,” he said. “That would be my dream. I’d be delighted to play there.”
For now, he is concentrating on the BMW PGA Championship and plans to use his time at Wentworth to start getting answers from DP World Tour officials.
“I’m just trying to focus on my golf right now,” Detry said. “That’s why I haven’t really talked to the DP World Tour yet. But I think this week will be a good week to do it.”
Detry knows where he would prefer to play. What remains unresolved is whether LIV Golf will survive in a form that lets him make that choice, and whether the private conversations deciding its future can stay private long enough to get there.
