Saudi PIF to end funding of LIV Golf league after 2026 season
LIV Golf sign is seen before LIV Golf Mexico City at Club de Golf Chapultepec on April 15, 2026 in Mexico City.
Hector Vivas | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will end financing of the LIV Golf league after the 2026 season, leaving the controversial golf venture in limbo, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Founded in 2021, the league has been positioned as a rival to the PGA Tour and has attracted high-profile athletes. It agreed to merge with the PGA Tour in 2023, but that deal has yet to come to fruition.
A committee of independent directors will evaluate strategic alternatives for the league after PIF withdraws its funding, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is an internal matter.
LIV Golf will announce details of its strategic path forward on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the league’s operations who asked not to be named because the details have not yet been made public.
The plan includes new board members and leadership, as well as efforts to find new, long-term financial partners, the person said. The person added that LIV Golf is currently in communication with potential global investors.
LIV declined to comment.
The league’s CEO, Scott O’Neil, has talked about the idea that PIF could withdraw its funding on short notice. broadcast interview from a LIV tournament in Mexico City earlier this month.
“The reality is you get funded during the season and then you work like crazy to create a business and create a business plan to keep us going,” O’Neil said. “But this is no different than any other private equity-funded business in human history.”
LIV’s operations outside the United States report losses of approximately $600 million in 2024. In 2025, LIV, FOX, IVT, DAZN and KC Global Media announce new broadcast partnerships with LIV but TV ratings increase has fallen behind the more established PGA Tour.
LIV Golf is on track to generate $100 million more in annual revenue in the 2026 season than the previous season, according to a league spokesperson, as it signed partnership agreements with brands such as Rolex, HSBC and Salesforce.
Still, the league will need to find investors who believe there’s a future beyond this season, when two of LIV’s biggest stars, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, have near-expiring contracts. DeChambeau’s contract with LIV expires at the end of this season. Rahm has a signature until 2027.
Earlier this week, LIV postponed the tournament scheduled for late June in New Orleans as it sought new funding.
