LIV Golf will officially announce to staff and players that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the primary financial backer of the renegade golf tour, has officially pulled its funding at the conclusion of the 2026 season.
The official announcement, which a source confirmed to Golfweek will happen either Wednesday night or Thursday, should formally clear the way for LIV's CEO Scott O'Neil to look for other funding.
The Saudi-backed men’s golf league, which intended to compete with the PGA Tour, has reportedly lost more than $5 billion since its debut in 2022 and failed to achieve a significant television audience, especially in the U.S., where it aired on the CW Network before signing a deal with Fox, although ratings have continued to be abysmal.
Rumors that PIF would pull its financial backing have been circulating for weeks and LIV's O'Neil confirmed as much in an interview on April 17 that the league is only funded through the rest of the season, and then he’ll “work like crazy” to keep it going. In an interview that aired during the LIV Mexico tournament, O'Neil declared, “LIV Golf is in the best shape it’s ever been in its history, period, end of sentence,” while at the same time stating that future funding was to be determined.
“The reality is you’re funded through the season and then you work like crazy to create a business plan to keep us going,” O’Neil said. “But that’s not different from any other private equity-funded business in the history of mankind.”
The news comes just weeks after the PIF’s governor and primary LIV backer, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, shared a new five-year strategic plan that reprioritized the kingdom’s domestic spending and reduced its international investments.
LIV Golf – the Roman numeral for 54, and number of holes originally played at LIV events – kicked off its first event in June 2022, with no cuts and shotgun starts, and a team golf element that never found an audience. With lavish guaranteed contracts, it succeeded in signing some of the world’s notable names, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. It had some success with tournaments in Australia and, more recently, this season in South Africa. Anthony Kim’s comeback and eventual win created a bit of buzz earlier this year, but overall the league failed to gain traction.
LIV Golf filed a lawsuit against the PGA Tour, accusing it of being a monopoly. Saudi Arabia’s PIF and the Tour signed a Framework Agreement on June 6, 2023, throwing out the lawsuit, but a deal to work together was never consummated despite the influence of U.S. President Donald Trump... (our emphasis)
Another "deal" that the Great Dealmaker didn't make. Being business buddies with the Saudis both in and out of office, he was a big booster of the breakaway league, having hosted several LIV tournaments at his (allegedly!) bedbug-ridden golf courses. The Saudis, of course, were mainly interested in using LIV Golf as a way of "sportswashing" their vile human rights reputation (one most recently earned by the killing and dismemberment of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul). Then there was 9/11, of course.
Don't think this league backed by Saudi blood money won't fold like a cheap Bedouin tent now. The few top players they had are either back to the PGA (Brooks Koepka) or are looking for a way back after their contracts end (Jon Rahm and Trump golfing partner DeChambeau). Al-Rumayyan, he Saudi Investment Fund governor who ran the show for Crown Prince Bonesaw, may want to watch his back lest he be dismembered and disposed of.
(Photo: LIV backers Yasir Al-Rumayyan and the asshole-in-one at his Bedminster club in 2022 / Doug MIlls, Redux Pictures)
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