Sergio Garcia, captain of the Fireballs, said before the opening round of LIV Mexico that players were told this year the tour would run for “many years”. An internal message from O’Neil did not confirm continuation beyond this season, although at the previous event players were told funding is secured until at least 2032.
A senior figure in European golf said LIV would be unviable without backing from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and suggested tour leadership may be seeking other revenue streams. On speculation that PIF might withdraw support, Garcia said this was “not what Yasir [Al‑Rumayyan, governor of PIF] told us at the beginning of the year” and added, “There are always rumours.”
BBC Sport has asked LIV Golf for comment. People familiar with LIV’s investment and operations say the tour and its funding will proceed as scheduled. PIF has not responded to requests for comment.
Last year it emerged LIV’s net losses in its international markets outside the US reached $462m in 2024, leaving cumulative losses of more than $1.1bn since 2021. PIF’s overall investment in LIV has been reported at about $5bn, while broadcast rights reportedly raised only $2.7m. O’Neil said in February the business would not be profitable for another five to 10 years.
A senior Saudi source told BBC Sport in January there had been “a shift” in attitudes towards some investments late last year, with “everything in the PIF world under serious review”. The source said more money was being directed into AI and tech and that there was growing pressure to prioritise sustainable investments that deliver returns, expressing scepticism that LIV could do so despite new sponsors such as Rolex and HSBC.
LIV sparked a rupture in professional golf in 2022 by recruiting major names from the PGA Tour with substantial pay offers. In 2023 the PGA Tour and DP World Tour announced a deal involving PIF, but the planned union has not yet come to fruition. A limited number of LIV-affiliated players have been allowed to return to some DP World Tour and PGA Tour events under certain conditions.
Uncertainty about LIV’s future increased around the publication of PIF’s new four‑year strategy, which stresses “sustained value creation” and higher investment efficiency; the strategy’s media release made no mention of LIV or sport. Even before recent Middle East tensions, there was a sense PIF was refocusing on more sustainable assets and that LIV was under closer scrutiny, particularly with the 2034 World Cup a higher sporting priority.
The situation was also affected by Brooks Koepka’s decision to return to the PGA Tour earlier this year, a blow to LIV alongside Patrick Reed’s exit. O’Neil has said it could still take a decade to reach profitability. If Saudi Arabia were to significantly reduce or end its support, it would be a seismic change for the sport: LIV has driven a wedge through golf and, given the scale of investment and ambition, any withdrawal would raise major questions about the kingdom’s wider sporting projects.
People close to LIV point to growing revenues, attendances and encouraging commercial partnership income over the past year. But many remain unsure whether the series could survive — and in what form — without PIF. Some believe LIV’s management hopes to find alternative partners or pursue a merger, yet without Saudi funds there would be serious doubts about the tour’s viability.
Although LIV brought high-profile stars such as Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Koepka, Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson, it has struggled to attract TV audiences. While tournaments in Adelaide and Johannesburg sold out, the broader aim of creating IPL‑style franchised teams has not materialised, and the tour has not come close to delivering a financial return on Saudi investment.
Competitively, many LIV players have found it hard to match those on established tours. Koepka and DeChambeau won majors while competing with LIV, but LIV players generally have had limited impact on golf’s biggest stages; England’s Tyrrell Hatton was the only LIV player to contend at last week’s Masters. Koepka’s use of a hastily arranged returning-player programme — also open to Jon Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith, who declined — underlined tensions; whether that route remains available is unclear.
Facing an automatic one-year PGA Tour ban, some LIV golfers might follow Patrick Reed’s example and play a season on the DP World Tour to try to regain a US Tour card. If Saudi Arabia were to wind down LIV, it might instead seek to keep a foothold in men’s professional golf by investing in the DP World Tour.
