Saudi Arabia’s PIF Ends LIV Golf Funding After 2026 Season, LIV Seeks New Investors

LIV Golf is seeking new investment after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) confirmed it will end funding for the breakaway circuit at the end of the 2026 season, setting up a high-stakes scramble over the league’s future.

CNN reported that “LIV Golf will look to restructure and seek new investment after its Saudi backers are pulling funding from the league at the end of the season,” citing “a senior source familiar with the situation.”

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Sky Sports said PIF confirmed it will end its funding for LIV Golf at the end of the 2026 season, adding that the PIF statement said the “substantial investment required is no longer consistent” with its strategy.

The Guardian described the moment as a “race to secure at least a watered-down future,” noting that PIF “confirmed it will cease to fund the breakaway circuit at the end of this year.”

Multiple outlets tied the decision to a formal statement released on Thursday, with the PIF saying, “PIF has made the decision to fund LIV Golf only for the remainder of the 2026 season.”

LIV’s response, as described by CNN, was to announce “new board appointments” and an “independent board” led by Gene Davis and Jon Zinman as it tries to secure “long-term financial partners.”

The decision arrived after weeks of uncertainty and escalating reports about PIF’s intentions, with LIV and its leadership moving quickly once the funding timeline became public.

CNN said that “in the last two weeks, LIV informed players and staff that PIF was withdrawing its backing at the end of the season,” while also noting that “The Wall Street Journal first reported Wednesday that funding is expected to be pulled from the league as early as Thursday.”

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USA Today similarly described a pattern of “escalating reports, denials and deleted interviews,” and said the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, April 29, that PIF planned to end its financial backing after the season.

Sky Sports said LIV held a call with “13 team captains including Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm” to discuss future plans as players explored options.

The Guardian added that the PIF’s switch in strategy “caught LIV’s executives completely off-guard in the immediate aftermath of Rory McIlroy’s win at last month’s Masters,” and it pointed to Scott O’Neil being hired as LIV’s chief executive in early 2025.

The Washington Post described a similar internal timeline, saying “LIV players and employees were informed this month” that PIF planned to stop funding at the end of the season, according to “three people familiar with the situation.”

In the background of the funding shift, CNN connected PIF’s role to broader Saudi economic and geopolitical pressures, saying the Saudi government has been dealing with “the economic fallout from the war between the US and Iran and the subsequent effects on the oil markets.”

LIV’s immediate response to the funding cutoff was to install a new independent board and frame the move as a transition to a different investment model, while players and staff weighed their options.

CNN said LIV made it official on Thursday by announcing “new board appointments” and that the newly established independent board would be led by Gene Davis and Jon Zinman.

Sky Sports reported that LIV unveiled the new independent board of directors and confirmed it was trying to “secure long-term financial partners” to salvage the future, and it quoted PIF’s statement that the “LIV Golf board has created a committee of independent directors to evaluate strategic alternatives for its future beyond PIF's funding horizon.”

The Guardian quoted Davis saying, “The executive leadership team, along with Jon and I, see a clear opportunity to help the league formalise its structure, attract and secure long-term capital, and position the business for growth while continuing to promote the game across the world.”

The Washington Post added that the league said it intended to transition to a “diversified, multi-partner investment model,” and it described Davis and Jon Zinman as advisers “known for their work in corporate restructurings and complex turnarounds.”

At the same time, ESPN reported that “multiple representatives for LIV players have started to reach out to the PGA Tour about exploring a path to play on the circuit again,” according to CNN.

Sky Sports said the DP World Tour confirmed “multiple players have sounded out the series about reinstatement,” and it quoted Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol saying, “It looks like it's the end of the road.”

Fox News quoted President Donald Trump saying, “I do believe that all of the golfers should be playing against each other,” and he added, “I want to see Rory [McIlroy] playing Bryson DeChambeau” and “big Jon Rahm playing Scottie.”

While all the outlets described PIF’s decision to end funding after the 2026 season, they framed the implications in sharply different ways, from restructuring optimism to existential doubt.

CNN emphasized continuity and transition, saying LIV officials were “quick to point out that the league has been increasing its revenue this year,” and it cited LIV tracking “$100 million ahead of 2025 so far this year,” while also noting ticket sales were “up 129% year-over-year.”

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Sky Sports leaned into the operational uncertainty, quoting Solhekol: “It looks like it's the end of the road,” while also asserting that “as far as LIV is concerned, the show must go on.”

The Guardian portrayed the situation as a countdown, writing that “there is a very real chance the 2026 season will prove LIV’s last,” and it described the schedule as “14 at present” with prize funds “vastly reduced from the $30m currently on offer.”

The Washington Post used a broader political and reputational lens, saying the league “upended the sport and fueled a debate about Middle East money in athletics,” and it referenced “sportswashing” while also describing the league’s plan to continue operating “in 2027 and beyond.”

Fox News framed the story through Trump’s reaction, quoting him saying “It should be the opposite of a monopoly,” and it described LIV’s June New Orleans tournament as postponed with a “new date to be determined.”

USA Today highlighted the player impact and the uncertainty, saying the news means “Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and dozens of other pro golfers” face “an uncertain future,” and it tied the shift to “the Iran War’s disruption of Saudi oil exports.”

Even local coverage in the Welwyn Hatfield Times echoed the official language, quoting PIF’s statement that “PIF has made the decision to fund LIV Golf only for the remainder of the 2026 season,” and it described the decision as casting “doubt over the long-term future of the league.”

The funding cutoff is now directly tied to LIV’s near-term schedule and to the league’s ability to keep players under contract while it seeks outside capital.

“The decision by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund to stop bankrolling LIV Golf at the end of the season has plunged the future of the breakaway series into doubt”

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CNN said the next event on the schedule is set to tee off on May 7 at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, DC, and it reported that LIV’s season finale remains part of a broader 2026 plan even as uncertainty grows.

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The Washington Post said LIV’s event next week at Trump National Golf Club outside Washington, is expected to be played as scheduled, while also describing the “backdrop” as “one of growing uncertainty.”

Sky Sports said LIV is scheduled to continue at a Donald Trump-owned venue close to Washington DC next week, and it described the league as transitioning to a new funding model.

At the same time, the league’s June stop in New Orleans was disrupted, with CNN describing that “an event in New Orleans was rescheduled to a later date on Tuesday,” and Fox News saying the June tournament in New Orleans was postponed with “a new date to be determined.”

The AFP report carried by مونت كارلو الدولية said a LIV Golf event scheduled for June in Louisiana has been postponed, and it specified that the New Orleans event was scheduled for June 25–28 at Bayou Oaks in City Park.

AFP also reported that Louisiana’s Secretary of Economic Development Suzanne Bourgeois and Scott O’Neill spoke and agreed to postpone the event, and it said Bayou Oaks, owned by the state of Louisiana, received $2 million in state funding to upgrade hosting the event while the state allocated $3 million in hosting fees to attract the event with an expected “economic impact of $70 million for the region.”

The stakes extend beyond logistics: CNN said LIV could not confirm reports that chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan would be stepping down, while Sky Sports said questions have arisen over what the PIF’s shift could mean for other sports.

In the political realm, Fox News quoted Trump saying he is “excited about what may come out of it,” and he said “I’m not sure what’s happening with LIV,” underscoring that the league’s future is now a public question rather than an internal one.