The future of several leading LIV Golf players is uncertain amid expectations that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will end its backing for the breakaway tour by the end of 2026. While Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are likely to find a pathway back to the PGA Tour, others who made lucrative switches face a less clear situation.
Insiders believe the PIF will seek to invoke force majeure to extricate itself from contracts beyond this year, citing the financial impact of the Middle East crisis. Each LIV event carries a $30m prize fund, and with no access to alternative funding, the circuit’s outlook is bleak. Since its founding in 2021, LIV is understood to have burned through over $5bn of PIF money.
A report that LIV was poised to make a seismic announcement proved untrue, but uncertainty rippled through the tour’s stop in Mexico City this week. LIV’s chief executive, Scott O’Neil, sent a message to staff assuring that the 2026 season continues as planned “uninterrupted and at full throttle,” but he made no commitments beyond this year. In a meeting with team captains, he reiterated that sentiment, but failed to douse concerns.
Under O’Neil, LIV has attracted sponsors such as Rolex and HSBC and had plans to sell team franchises. The tour aimed to focus on markets outside the US, targeting national open tournaments. However, the PGA Tour has already smoothed a path for Brooks Koepka to return, with Patrick Reed set to follow. Terms for DeChambeau and Rahm may be strict given LIV’s peril, but both hold appeal to the PGA Tour.
Other players, such as Phil Mickelson, who entered open warfare with the PGA Tour upon joining LIV, may find it harder to return. The DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, has been more willing to re-engage with LIV players, but that effort is complicated by its renegotiated agreement with the PGA Tour. The Ladies European Tour also faces exposure, as events like the PIF Saudi Ladies International and Aramco-backed stops could be affected if Saudi Arabia shifts its focus away from golf.
