Saudi Public Investment Fund to Cease LIV Golf Funding After 2026, Prompting Strategic Review

Outlets including the Athletic, Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times reported two weeks prior to April 29 that the Public Investment Fund was pulling its funding.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has distanced itself from LIV Golf, according to Forbes. A committee of independent directors will evaluate strategic alternatives for LIV Golf after the Public Investment Fund pulls funding, according to two people familiar with the matter.

LIV Golf has received more than $5 billion from the Public Investment Fund, with losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

U.S. operations reported losing nearly $600 million in 2024. LIV Golf is on pace to earn $100 million more in year-over-year revenue during the 2026 season than the previous season, according to a LIV Golf spokesperson.

The Iran War disrupted Saudi oil exports, accelerating the Public Investment Fund's shift to prioritize domestic investments over international projects losing money, according to CBS Sports. LIV Golf announced new broadcast partnerships with FOX, IVT, DAZN, and KC Global Media LIV in 2025. LIV Golf inked partnership deals with Rolex, HSBC, and Salesforce.

Louisiana announced there would be no LIV tournament in New Orleans in June, with the announcement occurring on Tuesday. LIV postponed a scheduled tournament in New Orleans in late June, with the postponement occurring earlier this week, according to CNBC. Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cameron Smith declined offers to return to the PGA Tour before a February deadline.

The news means Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and dozens of other pro golfers who abandoned the PGA Tour for nine-figure guaranteed contracts are now facing an uncertain future, according to USA Today. Bryson DeChambeau's deal with LIV runs out at the end of the 2026 season. Jon Rahm is signed with LIV through 2027.

Several LIV players have sounded out the DP World Tour as part of contingency plans if the league shuts down after the 2026 season. LIV announcers attacked outlets as rumor mongers after reports of funding pull. LIV Golf was founded in 2021.

LIV Golf agreed to merge with the PGA Tour in 2023. LIV Chief Executive Officer Scott O'Neil said in a broadcast interview earlier this month from a LIV tournament in Mexico City: 'The reality is you're funded through the season and then you work like crazy as a business to create a business and a business plan to keep us going.