Saudi Arabia to end LIV Golf funding, while league appoints new chairman

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has confirmed funding to the breakaway LIV Golf league would be cut after the 2026 season.

LIV Golf announced on Thursday a new board and a new business strategy as it tries to forge ahead without Saudi funding, which allowed the league to launch nearly four years ago with oversized contracts and prize funds.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, who was behind the creation of LIV Golf, is no longer listed as its chair.

LIV announced that Gene Davis of the Pirinate Consulting Group and Jon Zinman of the strategic advisory firm JZ Advisors are leading a newly created board with Davis as chair. The focus is on securing long-term financial partners when Saudi funding ends after this season.

The Saudi investment fund said in a statement: “PIF has made the decision to fund LIV Golf only for the remainder of the 2026 season.

“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.

“PIF remains committed to deploying capital internationally in line with its investment strategy, including its substantial current and future investments in various sports as a priority sector.”

LIV, meanwhile, said it is seeking to move towards an investment model involving multiple partners and team franchises. The league has said it expects 10 of its 13 teams to be profitable this year.

“The executive leadership team, along with Jon and I, see a clear opportunity to help the league formalize its structure, attract and secure long-term capital, and position the business for growth while continuing to promote the game across the world,” Davis said in a statement. “We look forward to positioning LIV Golf for future success.”

Scott O’Neil, the CEO at LIV Golf, had told Britain-based TNT two weeks ago during a tournament in Mexico: “The reality is that you’re funded through the season, and then you work like crazy as a business to create a business and a business plan to keep us going.”

That raised questions about whether LIV Golf will be able to keep some of its top players once their lucrative contracts expire. With financial muscle from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, LIV was able to spend $1bn to land the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith and eventually Jon Rahm, the last big signing at the end of 2023.

The newsletter Money in Sport reported earlier this year that LIV Golf had already spent $5.3bn since the league launched in 2022, a figure that would be $6bn by the end of this year.