The future of LIV Golf is in doubt amid reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to pull its funding for the rebel golf league after just four years.
Since its launch in June 2022, the PIF has thrown more than $5bn at LIV Golf attempting to overthrow the sport, signing some of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars in Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, as well as European Ryder Cup stalwarts Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.
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But LIV Golf failed to make the splash that its big-money signing bonuses promised. And on Wednesday, league executives called an “emergency meeting” in New York, according to The Telegraph.
At the same time, senior LIV Golf figures insisted the league was going to continue and remain at “full throttle” this season, while executives are said to be focused on this week’s event in Mexico. So what happens next?
What is LIV Golf and how did we get here?
The rebel golf league, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and founded in 2022, sparked a civil war in the sport and a bitter feud with the US-based PGA Tour. Enormous signing bonuses, in excess of nine figures, were offered to encourage players to make the controversial move to LIV Golf. John Rahm, for example, was rumoured to have signed a $500m deal to join.
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It also attracted strong criticism and controversy, with human rights groups claiming the league as sportswashing and a political strategy for Saudi Arabia to improve its global image through sports. The league was run by the PIF’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and two-time major winner Greg Norman, who operated as CEO until his departure in 2025, with Scott O’Neil replacing him.
Jon Rahm was one of LIV Golf’s biggest signings (Getty)
Two-time major champion Dustin Johnson was one of the most significant initial signings in 2022, with major champions Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Patrick Reed among the biggest signings soon after.
Cameron Smith, weeks after winning The Open at St Andrews, joined later that year, with Rahm, the reigning Masters champion at the time, signing in December 2023. The Spaniard would win the individual championship in each of the last two seasons and leads the all-time prize money list at $74,976,946 (£55.3m).
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What went wrong in golf’s ‘civil war’ with the PGA?
Despite investing billions of dollars into the league, LIV Golf remained isolated and it failed to capture wider attention, particularly in the United States and Europe. Golf, as a whole, also struggled to thrive with its best players failing to meet outside of the majors on a regular basis.
The PGA also retained the support of golf’s two biggest stars, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, and it refused to lie down quietly. That led to a proposed merger of commercial rights of LIV, PGA and European Tours in 2023, with then PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Al-Rumayyan in negotiations.
But after a deadline expired on 31 December, 2023, the PGA Tour eventually opted to pursue its own path, with investment worth $3bn for its for-profit arm, PGA Tour Enterprises, led by a Fenway Sports Group-backed consortium with major US professional sports owners.
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While the main rivalry involved the PGA Tour, LIV Golf also engaged in a lengthy dispute with the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), which operates and organises the sport’s rankings, which largely decides entry to the majors, golf’s most prestigious tournaments.
One of the main negatives to playing in the league was an initial absence of a route into the majors, beyond existing exemptions for recent champions, though The Masters did extend invitations to some players who did not qualify.
Several leading stars have since left LIV Golf and are attempting to rejoin the PGA Tour. Brooks Koepka was allowed to rejoin the PGA Tour after paying a $5m fine. Patrick Reed also left LIV and is playing a European tour schedule this year before potentially qualifying for a PGA Tour card in 2027.
Former Masters champion Patrick Reed quit LIV Golf and is set to return to the PGA Tour (Getty)
How LIV Golf responded to reports of PIF ‘pulling funding’
Reports of an “emergency meeting” involving senior LIV Golf figures and questions about the league’s future followed the publication of the Public Investment Fund’s new five-year investment strategy. PIF said the new phase would explore “sustained value creation, with a strengthened focus on maximizing impact, raising the efficiency of investments”.
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A memo sent to LIV Golf staff by its CEO Scott O’Neil was then shared by the Associated Press. It said: “I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle. While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.”
The next LIV Golf event is set to begin in Mexico on Thursday, and LIV Golf has continued to promote the event. “Slow news day? We are ON,” a social media post read. Meanwhile, former Masters champion Sergio Garcia was asked about the speculation ahead of the Mexico event. “Honestly, we haven’t heard anything other than what Yasir told us at the beginning of the year,” Garcia said at a press conference. “That he’s behind us, that they have a long-term project.”
LIV Golf in Mexico City is set to go ahead at ‘full throttle’ (Getty)
What other sports projects has Saudi Arabia’s PIF invested in?
Through its Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in several major sports, as well as entertainment and tourism projects, in an attempt to diversify its revenue streams. The PIF has ownership in Premier League club Newcastle United, as well as several clubs in the Saudi Pro League such as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr. Boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh has staged several major fights in Saudi Arabia, while the region has also staged events in Formula One, UFC, tennis and snooker.
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Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 men’s World Cup, which would be, by far, its biggest and most expensive event since it began investing in sports. The suggestion of the PIF’s next five-year strategy is that the investment fund will look to focus on “raising the efficiency of investments”, concentrating on major events like the World Cup rather than throwing money at projects like LIV Golf for little returns. It remains to be seen, however, if LIV Golf will even have a future to fight for.
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