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Saudi Fund Ends $5B LIV Golf Support After 2026

5/1/2026

34 7 Full Breakdown

Summary

Saudi PIF Stops LIV

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will cease financing LIV Golf after the 2026 season because the required investment no longer fits its strategy, ending over $5 billion of support since 2022.
LIV Golf will tell staff and players funding stops at summer’s end and is seeking long-term partners.
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil pledged a full-throttle 2026 season while PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp warned returning players could face penalties.

Summary

LIV Golf Forms Board

LIV Golf created a board chaired by Gene Davis and Jon Zinman to secure financial partners.
Revenue has more than doubled since 2025, with four events and ten of 13 teams slated to profit in 2026.
LIV faces contracts worth hundreds of millions to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, tournament costs of about $40 million, no U.S. TV deal, and considers fewer events, international schedule, or a DP World Tour merger.

History

Historical Context

In April 2020 a Saudi-backed consortium agreed to buy Newcastle United for £300 million, but the Premier League delayed approval until 7 October 2021, when the Public Investment Fund took an 80% stake. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s involvement sparked accusations of sports-washing and set a precedent that the PIF later followed with a $5 billion LIV Golf investment in 2022, reshaping sovereign-fund financing of sport.

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Saudi PIF Stops LIV

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will cease financing LIV Golf after the 2026 season because the required investment no longer fits its strategy, ending over $5 billion of support since 2022.
LIV Golf will tell staff and players funding stops at summer’s end and is seeking long-term partners.
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil pledged a full-throttle 2026 season while PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp warned returning players could face penalties.

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