LIV Golf, the competitor to the PGA Tour bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is losing its funding from the Gulf state, according to The Wall Street Journal, following weeks of speculation surrounding the upstart’s potential shutdown.
The league is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Key Facts
LIV intends to tell staff and players, some of whom were among the PGA Tour’s most popular when they were poached, on Thursday that the league will lose funding after the conclusion of this season.
LIV is in discussions with outside investors to keep the league operating, the Journal reported, though it noted maintaining its current form would be “nearly impossible,” as the league has incurred mounting losses.
Unnamed sources cited by the Journal said LIV no longer aligned with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s strategy.
Forbes has reached out to LIV Golf for comment.
What To Watch For
If top players who left the PGA Tour for LIV, such as Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, intend to return to the U.S. golf tour, the financial arrangements to come back could weigh heavily on their wallets. Brooks Koepka was required to forfeit bonuses and equity when he returned from LIV last year in addition to making millions in charitable donations. The arrangements will be made case-by-case, the Journal reported, noting the animosity generated between DeChambeau and the PGA Tour over an antitrust lawsuit he joined against the tour could make his return a tough financial proposition.
Tangent
The report on the league’s funding loss comes days after LIV postponed its New Orleans event scheduled for June, consequently returning $1 million in cash to the state of Louisiana.
Big Number
$1.4 billion. That is reportedly how much money LIV lost in its first three and a half years of operation, according to The Athletic. In just 2024, $590.1 million was lost from its U.K. branch.
Key Background
Rumors about LIV’s shutdown accelerated this month after a report from the Financial Times said the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund was considering pulling its funding from the golf league. LIV also held an emergency meeting this month, with league officials ditching a Mexico City event to attend the summit in New York, according to The Telegraph. LIV made a massive splash when it was established in 2022 with billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia. The league, unlike the PGA Tour, offered guaranteed contracts for players and managed to lure high-profile players like Rahm, DeChambeau, Koepka and Phil Mickelson. The PGA Tour indefinitely suspended Mickelson and other members who competed in LIV Golf events without proper release agreements in place.
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