LIV Golf executives are preparing to inform players that Saudi Arabia’s funding of the circuit will cease at the end of 2026, according to reports. The move threatens the future of the breakaway tour, which has relied on billions from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) since its inception.
The PIF, which has invested more than $5bn (£3.7bn) into LIV, informed management of the change during meetings in New York after the Masters. The conflict in the Middle East is cited as a factor, and Yasir al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor and key LIV backer, is no longer playing a central role in the tour’s future. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has insisted on a strategic shift, directly affecting LIV due to its reliance on PIF cash.
Scott O’Neil, LIV’s chief executive, had hoped to convince the PIF to maintain support but is now set to outline the funding reversal to players and staff on Thursday. O’Neil plans to seek alternative investors, but the outlook appears grim. Without a new funding source from 2027, LIV in its current form faces closure just four years after its first tournament.
Major winners including Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith are contracted to LIV under deals worth hundreds of millions. Players may seek permission to return to the PGA Tour, but negotiations are complicated. The PGA Tour is in a strong bargaining position and must apply reasonable sanctions to returning players to satisfy members who did not defect to LIV.
Next week, LIV Golf Virginia is scheduled at Trump National Golf Club near Washington DC, while a planned event in Louisiana in June has been postponed.
