Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund walking away from LIV Golf
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is withdrawing billions from LIV Golf at the end of the 2026 season, casting a shadow over the upstart golf league’s future. Greg Palkot reports that the PIF had invested over $5 billion to rival the PGA Tour, attracting top players like Phil Mickelson. With this funding cut, LIV Golf now seeks new global investors to secure its long-term viability.
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As LIV Golf formally announced Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will no longer fund the startup league, President Donald Trump is excited for what may come out of it.
With LIV’s monetary future in question beyond 2026, reports say that golfers who defected from the PGA Tour for LIV want to reverse course.
Trump believes that would be positive for the sport.
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President Donald Trump reacts as he walks on the course at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new 18-hole course at Trump International Golf Links on July 29, 2025 in Balmedie, near Aberdeen, Scotland. President Trump is visiting Scotland in a trip that’s part-vacation, part-work, as he stayed at his Trump Turnberry golf course, followed by Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, between July 25 to 29. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“I do believe that all of the golfers should be playing against each other. They were viewing something as a monopoly, but it’s swaying away. It should be the opposite of a monopoly,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office Thursday.
“I want to see Rory [McIlroy] playing Bryson DeChambeau. I want to see big Jon Rahm playing Scottie, who is so great. Scottie Scheffler is great. They have great players on LIV, but it’s almost like people want to see that. That’s why the Masters was so good because you saw everybody together.”
“The Tour wants to have the best players. You can’t have the best player that they’re boycotting now. They may do something, you know, a little bit, but they’ll all be back on tour and it’ll be great. I don’t know what’s happening with LIV. I’m not sure what’s happening with LIV, but they are playing at my course in two weeks on the Potomac, beautiful course. But right now [the PGA Tour] at Doral, which I own.”
LIV CEO Scott O’Neil reportedly sent an email to his staff amid the initial reports of funding that the season would go “exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” but plans apparently changed. LIV announced its June tournament in New Orleans was postponed with a date to be determined.
The league announced Thursday “new board appointments as the league focuses on securing long-term financial partners to support its transition from a foundational launch phase to a diversified, multi-partner investment model.”
Team Captain Bryson DeChambeau shakes hands with former President Donald Trump on the fourth hole during the pro-am before the LIV Golf Invitational at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, N.J., on July 28, 2022. (Jonathan Ferrey/LIV Golf)
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“PIF has made the decision to fund LIV Golf only for the remainder of the 2026 season,” their statement began. “The substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF’s investment strategy. This decision has been made in light of PIF’s investment priorities and current macro dynamics.
“The LIV Golf Board has created a committee of independent directors to evaluate strategic alternatives for its future beyond PIF’s funding horizon. LIV Golf has substantially grown the game globally through its transformational and positive impact. It has forever changed the game of golf for the better.”
The PIF reportedly injected north of $1 billion into LIV Golf in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025. With the $266 million injection to begin the new year, an increase in prize funds for the season and the net spend of $100 million per month, the Saudi PIF’s cumulative investment was set to reach $6 billion by the end of 2026.
LIV began in 2022 and has produced two major winners in Brooks Koepka, who has since rejoined the PGA Tour, at the 2023 PGA Championship, and DeChambeau at the 2024 U.S. Open.
LIV Golf shifted from its 54-hole format, a draw for golfers defecting from the PGA Tour, to a 72-hole format beginning this season. Patrick Reed is also set to rejoin the PGA Tour.
Former President Donald Trump leaves the first tee after the start of the final round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, New Jersey, on July 31, 2022. (Seth Wenig/AP)
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There are seven remaining events on the 2026 LIV Golf schedule, with the next set to take place at Trump National in Virginia beginning on May 7. They will be at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey course in July.
OutKick’s Mark Harris contributed to this report.
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