The launch of LIV Golf in June 2022 was meant to disrupt and challenge the existing structure of professional golf, creating a rival league to the PGA Tour and aiming to steal the game's top stars to rebuild golf in a new image. Four years later, the league, fully financed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, may be on the verge of insolvency.
LIV Golf will inform players and staff on Thursday that the PIF is withdrawing its funding for the league at the conclusion of the 2026 season, ending its investment after sinking more than $5 billion into the circuit since its launch, according to the Wall Street Journal and CNBC.
Saudi Arabia is in the midst of reevaluating its substantial financial commitments in the sports space and the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran.
While LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil initially pushed back on reports that the PIF was dissolving its multibillion-dollar investment, noting two weeks ago that the league was fully funded through its 2026 campaign, the circuit is now facing the reality of its situation as it prepares for the future.
LIV Golf has already postponed its upcoming event in New Orleans, and it now must find investors willing to contribute significant funds to keep it running through 2027 and beyond.
Considering the league has struggled to break through with fans and generate media rights revenue or television ratings, securing financiers willing to back nine-figure guaranteed contracts and massive purses will be a difficult sell. Still, LIV Golf reportedly plans to consider strategic alternatives rather than close its doors, though it's hard to envision how that will allow the league to retain the likes of stars Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.
As such, LIV Golf's future is now tenuous after years of failed efforts to recruit top PGA Tour players and establish a substantial audience. As the PGA Tour itself added private investments and increased purses for its signature tournaments, LIV Golf has struggled to attract top names after an initial wave of substantial signings while bleeding money.
Losses have been estimated at $500 million to $600 million each year, though LIV Golf is on pace to improve its revenue projection by $100 million in 2026 after inking multiple brand partnership deals, CNBC reports.
Critics have accused LIV Golf of serving as a sportswashing arm for Saudi Arabia, an operation that existed as a means of improving the country's reputation amid accusations of human rights abuses and corruption. Proponents suggested it was advancing the game of golf, offering an alternative product with a different format.
However, LIV Golf failed to obtain recognition from the sport's preeminent evaluation body, the Official World Golf Rankings, due to its 54-hole, shotgun-start, no-cut tournaments, and the team competition element failed to catch on with fans. LIV Golf was consequently forced to change its format and only recently received OWGR recognition, moves that appear to be too little, too late, given that interest in the league has not grown.
DeChambeau, a two-time U.S. Open winner, and Rahm, a two-time major champion, are the two biggest names under contract with LIV Golf, though other burgeoning talents like Joaquín Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton join them on the circuit. (Five-time major champion winner Brooks Koepka and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed recently departed the league for the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, respectively.)
The PGA Tour has already shown a willingness to create paths for top stars to return; however, it did so while being mindful of its membership's feelings and perspectives, many of whom declined the get-richer-quicker prospect of signing with LIV Golf to remain loyal and continue playing stateside.
After DeChambeau and Rahm declined the opportunity this offseason to bolt alongside Koepka, that process would need to be reevaluated should LIV Golf shutter. Koepka's deal, which included a $5 million charitable donation, ineligibility for the Player Equity Program for five years and no FedEx Cup payouts in his first year back, was billed as a one-time offer that was "not precedent-setting," per the PGA Tour.
DeChambeau was also part of a group that filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour following his defection to LIV Golf. While that lawsuit was ultimately dropped, it led to escalating tensions between the sides, and PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp told the Journal that "scar tissue" would be a factor.
"There were rules, and they were broken," Rolapp said. "With rules comes accountability."
These potentially unhomed players would have no leverage in talks with the PGA Tour, putting them in a difficult bargaining position.
One option could be for the PGA Tour to offer the same deal Reed received: serve a one-year suspension and regain status via major championship and DP World Tour competition. DeChambeau and Rahm would still have full-time status upon returning, as they have won majors within the last five years, but the path to reconciliation might not be as smooth as it was with Koepka and Reed.
"I don't necessarily have scar tissue, but there are plenty of people around our tour who do," Rolapp added. "It has to be accounted for in some shape or form."
For non-stars, the road back to the PGA Tour will be more arduous. With the PGA Tour already talking about trimming fields and creating more "scarcity" in events to boast stronger fields in 2027 and beyond, gaining status may be more difficult than ever, especially considering LIV Golf players lack world ranking points and the PGA Tour has little incentive to help them.
"We're interested in having the best players who can help our tour," Rolapp explained bluntly. "Not every player can do that."