WESTFIELD, Ind. — When it was all over, as four multimillionaire golfers prepared to pop champagne bottles and celebrate another $8.4 million in winnings, Tyrrell Hatton ducked behind his teammates and walked away to avoid the sprays. He made his way down the stairs, and when it was time for the LIV Golf season finale team championship news conference, he and his teammates made it clear they needed to keep this brief.They had a plane to catch.If it turns out this is it, if this multi-billion-dollar lightning bolt of a league’s final moments came in a country club in the Indianapolis suburbs, there were no apparent signs of sentimentality.The players did not come together to embrace the shared four-year journey against the machine. There weren’t tears or emotional reminiscing. To the naked eye, this was just a regular season-ending golf tournament. One with a pretty good fan turnout. One with a $40 million purse courtesy of benefactors no longer involved.LIV 1.0 ended Sunday at The Club at Chatham Hills. That much we know for sure. Whether 2.0 will ever properly launch remains unknown.The league’s original catalyst, Phil Mickelson, has not been seen in five months as he deals with family issues and allegations of nonconsensual physical contact.Its biggest star, Bryson DeChambeau, shook hands, drank a Celsius energy drink and kissed his girlfriend before leaving, only telling the LIV broadcast, “There’s something fun coming.”Its best player, Jon Rahm, calmly celebrated another individual season title and said all he’s thinking about now is his fourth child — due in October — and his desperate need for a haircut.And then, Rahm’s teammates left to catch flights back to Europe, leaving golf waiting to see what happens next.In the merchandise tent at the beginning of this week, surrounded by gear of teams with names like the Rippers and the RangeGoats, was a shirt with ransom note-styled letters declaring a shockingly on-the-nose proclamation:GOLF’S NOT DEAD.Just 20 yards from the tent was the man doing everything in his power to ensure LIV’s demise does not happen. CEO Scott O’Neil roamed the first tee box — one scaled down in grandeur from its normal size — hugging each LIV employee he saw, often hanging on for a few extra moments and saying a few sincere words with strong eye contact.Can LIV Golf survive without PIF funding? Experts weigh inGabby Herzig and Lauren Morales-JonesTo much of the golf world, LIV Golf died when the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund pulled its funding in April. To others, it’ll be declared over sometime this fall, when certain players leave, or potential deals fall through. Only the true believers spent Sunday talking about how they’ll all see each other again next season.O’Neil does not use the word “bankruptcy” in the LIV offices. He doesn’t directly concede it in press settings. While it’s understood, according to sources granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, that bankruptcy is part of the most likely path forward for LIV’s survival, it’s also understood that bankruptcy means pain. It means employees lose their jobs. It means unpaid vendors get cents on the dollar (at best). And while nobody is losing sleep over the well-being of millionaires, it means players likely have to choose between taking equity in LIV 2.0 or forfeiting large chunks of what the league owes them.O’Neil’s persona is one of brash confidence, not unlike his predecessor, Greg Norman. But while Norman initiated a battle cry of LIV against the world and antagonized everyone in the process, O’Neil is a schmoozer. A seasoned executive, one ready with an anecdote for each setting and a joke for each handshake. Always on.Which is why seeing O’Neil after he steps away from the cameras this week is to see a man coming to terms with all future scenarios. The smile fades into a sigh. The shoulders sag to feel some relief. “You can see it on his face and him,” one golfer, Charles Howell III, said. “It’s obviously taking a toll.”Bankruptcy decisions are out of O’Neil’s control, more up to PIF than the league itself. Any future is dependent on a deal going through with BC Partners head Ted Goldthorpe and other limited partners. And any deal with investors is dependent on keeping star players like DeChambeau and Rahm. But those players likely won’t commit until they know what the future looks like — if they want to commit at all — and O’Neil can’t negotiate media rights deals until he has a new investor, and so the cycle goes on and on.Individual champion Michael La Sasso, left, hugs LIV CEO Scott O’Neil on Sunday. (Justin Casterline / Getty Images)On top of that, the DP World Tour continues to threaten the reinstitution of fines for LIV golfers playing conflicting events in 2027. That directly endangers O’Neil’s pitch to players of a limited 10-event LIV schedule where players are free to fill out their campaigns on the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour). It’s why O’Neil focused much of his Wednesday news conference on the DP World Tour, and his frustration with its approach.If DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings doesn’t stand down, LIV’s survival appears bleaker than it already did.And it doesn’t help that questions already are rising about LIV’s top players.DeChambeau has not publicly signed beyond this season, but seems the most committed to what comes next. Rahm’s approach has not been nearly as certain, but as long as he’s under contract with LIV, he’s not eligible to communicate with the PGA Tour about any potential return.Others have taken to song to express themselves, using LIV’s persistent soundtrack during its events for their own benefit. Hatton, Rahm’s Ryder Cup teammate recruited to join him on LIV in 2024, chose “I Want to Break Free” by Queen for his walk-up song. The Fried Egg reported it was an intentional decision to signal his desire to leave LIV. A third member of Legion XIII, 23-year-old Tom McKibbin, concurred but also made clear the generational gap, opting for “Breaking Free” from the “High School Musical” soundtrack.While O’Neil and LIV sources deny any clear deadline, there’s no arguing that clarity is needed sooner rather than later. Players can’t and won’t go deep into the fall not knowing what their professional golf future is, and it’s unlikely LIV can survive if it doesn’t have funds secured on the same time frame.If it does survive, it will be a heavily toned-down experience, with smaller purses, reduced buildouts compared to the Saudi-backed extravagance, and an entirely smaller mission statement.No longer is LIV trying to usurp the PGA Tour as golf’s hegemonic power. O’Neil has minimized his goal to a far simpler question.“Can LIV add something valuable to golf?”This league arrived with pomp and controversy. Massive launch parties and endless money mixed with men who play golf for a living being asked questions about geopolitical ethics. It represented perhaps the strangest time in golf history, a civil war that split the professional game into pieces right as the broader sport was becoming more popular than ever.Outgoing PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan called that version of LIV Golf an “existential threat,” one that seemed to have the funds to slowly bleed out the PGA Tour.There were flash mobs, big-name signings and lawsuits. There were Senate hearings and framework agreements. At one point 18 months ago, this all seemed headed toward a potential merger before a contentious meeting in the Oval Office ended all momentum in its tracks.Now, that war is over.Bryson DeChambeau left Westfield, Ind., frustrated with his putting and saying little about his future. (Jeffrey Brown / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)The Saudis are gone, and in turn, two essential elements have changed. For starters, the league is no longer a direct avenue for sportswashing. But it’s also no longer the type of financial power that could instill fear in its rivals.LIV Indianapolis, while still not LIV 2.0 by any means, was the first clear sign of that shift. Gone were the concerts, with the league canceling shows for Thomas Rhett and Disco Lines on Monday. Gone are the luxurious buildouts, with dramatically fewer scoreboards and hospitality sections. The Team Championship was also decided this week because LIV was forced to cancel the stand-alone event, originally scheduled for next week in Michigan.It is simply a league trying to survive.Michael La Sasso, recruited in January off Ole Miss’ roster to be mentored by Mickelson, struggled throughout his first pro season, but caught fire this week in Indianapolis. He held off Rahm, DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia to win his first pro event, rejoicing in the celebratory champagne showers with all the enthusiasm Legion XIII could not muster.As employees posed for pictures and players dashed off to the airport, O’Neil paced far back on the 18th green. He had two white earbuds in, already on the phone and onto what’s next.If LaSasso’s win is to be a season finale and not the series ender, it’s up to O’Neil.