Saudi PIF weighs pulling funding from LIV Golf amid heavy losses

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is weighing whether to withdraw funding from LIV Golf after years of heavy losses and weak television audiences in the U.S., putting the breakaway league’s future in doubt.

The decision comes as the PIF announced a new five-year strategy on Wednesday, with the sovereign wealth fund’s Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan saying it would slow down some of its biggest projects as it focuses on “increasing the efficiency of investments,” The Financial Times reports.

LIV Golf, launched in 2022 with billions in PIF backing, has disrupted professional golf by luring top players with lucrative contracts but has struggled to build a sustainable business model. The league has reportedly lost hundreds of millions of dollars annually, including about $600 million in 2024, as media rights and fan engagement failed to match expectations.

The potential shutdown follows stalled merger talks with the PGA Tour and comes amid broader scrutiny of Saudi spending priorities and the league’s limited commercial returns. Any move to end funding would leave dozens of players who defected from the PGA Tour facing uncertain futures, capping a four-year upheaval that reshaped the economics and politics of professional golf.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, meanwhile, told staff in an internal email sent this week that the 2026 season will proceed “as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” pushing back on speculation about the league’s future, ESPN reports.