Saudi Arabia’s PIF to withdraw LIV funding - report
LIV Golf’s future looks increasingly uncertain - if not doomed - after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund confirmed it will end its financial support for the breakaway league at the end of this season.
The Wall Street Journal reported last night that the PIF has confirmed it will cut off the flow of cash and that LIV Golf plans to notify its players and staff today.
The league has received more than $5 billion from the Public Investment Fund since its inception in 2021.
The rebel tour signed a raft of big names, many of the for enormous bonuses, including Major winners Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel.
Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Cam Smith, Jon Rahm and more recently, Tom McKibbin followed suit.
Koepka has since returned to the PGA Tour while Reed will follow for the 2027 season after opting not to re-sign with LIV this season and play the DP World Tour instead.
As for the remaining stars, their future now remains unknown and many may struggle to find a way to return to the PGA or the DP World Tour in the short term.
The LIV Golf League has been scrambling to deny it's in trouble following speculation two weeks ago that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia would no longer provide financial support
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil assured staff and players in the wake of initial reports that the season would continue “uninterrupted and at full throttle”, though he backed down on a claim he made to industry colleagues at the Masters that funding was secure until 2032.
Speaking to TNT at LIV Mexico City, O’Neil conceded: “The reality is you’re funded through the season and then you work like crazy to create a business plan to keep us going.
“But that’s not different from any other private equity-funded business in the history of mankind.”
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that a LIV tournament scheduled for New Orleans from June 25-28 has been postponed.
“We have made the strategic decision to explore moving LIV Golf Louisiana to a new window,” LIV Golf said in a statement issued to the Associated Press.
“This shift allows us to avoid the peak summer heat and the crowded global sports calendar while ensuring the course is in the championship condition our fans and players expect.”
LIV’s next event is set for Trump
National near Washington, DC, next week.
There are events scheduled in Korea and Spain after the PGA Championship and four more after the US Open.
LIV is already speaking to potential investors, according to the Wall Street Journal.
But should the League fail to finalise funding for 2027, it's unclear where many of its players would play.
“There were rules, and they were broken,” PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said recently. “With rules comes accountability.”
A return may be more complex for DeChambeau and Rahm, despite their popularity with fans, than it was for Koepka.
Unlike Koepka, they were part of a group of players who sued the PGA Tour.
“I don’t necessarily have scar tissue, but there are plenty of people around our tour who do,” Rolapp said of the bad blood amongst some of the PGA Tour rank and file. “It has to be accounted for in some shape or form.”
As for Rahm, he is in a tense standoff with the DP World Tour that threatens his eligibility for the 2027 Ryder Cup.
The Spaniard has rejected a "conditional release" deal accepted by eight LIV players, including teammates Tyrrell Hatton and McKibbin, which would have required him to commit to playing at least six tournaments.
Rahm called this "extorting players" and refused to play more than the minimum four events, saying he would "sign tonight" if the requirement was reduced to four.
At the Masters, Rahm expressed confidence that he could still "work out" a deal with the DP World Tour before his intended return for events such as the Amgen Irish Open in September.
