Saudi Arabia's PIF Prepares to Withdraw Multi-Billion Dollar Funding from LIV Golf

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is preparing to withdraw its multi-billion-dollar backing of LIV Golf, golf industry sources told The Athletic, throwing the breakaway tour's future into serious doubt as its Mexico City tournament opened Thursday amid streaming failures and delayed player payments. The news emerged on the same day PIF published a new five-year strategy focused on domestic economic transformation, with no mention of LIV Golf in the accompanying release. LIV's sixth tournament of the 2026 season began at Club de Golf Chapultepec, but the broadcast on YouTube and the Fox Sports app went dark roughly five minutes after its 3:15 p.m. ET start, leaving viewers staring at a "please standby" error message. The stream remained unavailable as of 5 p.m. ET, and LIV, Fox, and event production company EverWonder Studio did not respond to requests for comment.

CEO's rallying email conspicuously silent on 2027 LIV CEO Scott O'Neil sent a message to staff on Wednesday, April 15, attempting to project confidence, but the communication's omissions drew as much attention as its contents. O'Neil wrote that the season was proceeding "exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle," and framed the turbulence as characteristic of a disruptive startup. „The life of a start-up movement is often defined by these moments of pressure. We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo.” — Scott O'Neil via The Irish Times The email made no mention of PIF, offered no commitments beyond the 2026 season, and did not address the fund's reported withdrawal. One DP World Tour source told Telegraph Sport the message was "just smoke and mirrors and bluster," according to the Irish Independent. O'Neil repeated the same sentiments in a meeting with LIV team captains on Wednesday evening, according to the Irish Times, but failed to douse the uncertainty rippling through the tour. High-level LIV executives were separately reported by The Athletic to be mapping out the league's next steps while beginning their own job searches.

PIF pivots inward, sells Al Hilal stake the same day The timing of PIF's new strategic announcement underscored the shift in Saudi investment priorities. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved a 2026-2030 plan that will "focus on delivering competitive domestic ecosystems to connect sectors, unlock the full potential of strategic assets, maximize long-term returns, and continue to drive the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia," according to the fund's statement. On Thursday, PIF sold a 70 percent stake in Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal to Kingdom Holding Company, the firm run by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. „Today's announcement aligns with PIF's strategy to maximise returns and redeploy capital within the domestic economy.” — Yazeed A. Al-Humied via The New York Times The overseas proportion of PIF's investments had already been declining, falling from a high of 30 percent in 2020 to 19 percent by the end of 2024, according to company filings cited by The Athletic. A source with a government contract told The Guardian the change in policy represents an attempt to privatize Saudi Arabia's sports industry rather than subsidize it. $5bn (USD) — estimated PIF investment burned through by LIV Golf since founding

LIV Golf launched in June 2022, drawing top players away from the PGA Tour with large guaranteed contracts and a new format — originally 54 holes across three rounds with no cut, a structure that gave the tour its name, as LIV is the Roman numeral for 54. The tour has since shifted to 72 holes for the 2026 season. Since its founding, LIV is understood to have burned through more than $5 billion of PIF money, according to sources cited by the Irish Times and The Guardian. Saudi Arabia's broader sports spending over the last five years has been conservatively estimated at more than $10 billion, spanning football, boxing, motorsport, tennis, esports, and MMA, in addition to golf.

2020: 30, 2022: 23, 2024: 19

Players left in the dark as payments arrive late The players competing in Mexico City found themselves in a state of uncertainty that mirrored the broader institutional confusion. A person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that LIV had been late with a quarterly contract payment to players earlier in the week. Many players receive their compensation in quarterly installments rather than as upfront lump sums, leaving them exposed to the tour's financial instability. Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, told the Wall Street Journal he had received no official information. „Nothing we've heard. You know how it is with these rumors. There are always a lot of them.” — Sergio Garcia via The Wall Street Journal The Irish Times reported that insiders believe PIF will seek to invoke force majeure to exit contracts beyond the end of 2026, citing the financial impact of the Middle East crisis. LIV's media center at Club de Golf Chapultepec had already been closed on Tuesday, April 14, due to power outages, adding a further layer of operational disruption to the week. Meanwhile, the tournament itself did produce one moment of sporting note before the broadcast failed: Joaquin Niemann, ranked fifth on the LIV tour and defending champion at the Mexico City event, hit the 16th hole-in-one in LIV Golf history during the opening round.