Posted on 04/15/2026 12:16:44 PM PDT by BlueStateRightist
Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund is on the verge of cutting funding for LIV Golf, according to the Financial Times, a blow that would potentially — if not certainly — put an end to the breakaway tour. A formal announcement could come as early as Thursday, according to the report.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
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SA had no business in golf in the first place.
Why, is LIV acting pro-Iran.
Since Saudia Arabia started LIV, they don’t have a contractual onbligation?
The Saudis might be employing the force majeure clause in their contracts, which would give them a legally defensible “emergency exit” button to kill the financially failing tour quickly and cheaply amid “war-related economic pressures.”
What event triggered that?
It needs to die, it has killed the popularity of Golf.
If it withers away, so be it.
LIV, brought to you buy Valvoline lubricants (the Saudi Aramco oil brand).
The PIF, which includes Aramco (and the Valvoline lubricants brand), also sponsors numerous women’s golf tournaments from the Ladies European Tour (LET), and is the presenting sponsor of the next two FIFA Women’s World Cups (all on Obamavision here). Could the PIF be angling towards sponsoring only women’s golf and football to politically advance Sportswashing in preparation for next year’s WrestleMania in Riyadh, boxing and MMA in Saudi Arabia, and other events? Is their NASCAR sponsorship at Hendrick Motorsports in trouble? Interesting storylines are coming from this “exit” but the 2026 Ladies European Tour has five LIV-organised tournaments, and it could be advanced where the LIV venues would move to hosting women’s golf funded by the same Saudi riyals.
* February 11-14, PIF Saudi Ladies International, Riyadh - winner Charley Hull (ENG)
* March 2-5, Aramco Championship, Shadow Creek, NV - winner Lauren Coughlin (USA)
* August 6-9, PIF London Championship, Centurion Club, England
* October 8-11, Aramco Korea Championship, Seoul, Korea
* November 5-8, Aramco China Championship, Mission Hills, Shenzen, PRC
The LET could take over most of the venues on the 2026 LIV tour with the same Saudi money. Furthermore, the Asian Tour could be funded with a move of LIV tournaments to the Asian Tour. But I think the Saudi push will be to women’s golf.
“It needs to die, it has killed the popularity of Golf.”
Amateur golf, as measured by particiation and rounds played, is more popular now than ever. The LIV tour rapidly became irrelevant to professional golf. Good riddance.
What will happen to mediocre and washed-up players who joined LIV? I suspect the PGA Tour will hang them out to dry.
I guess the PGA negotiations are done then ?
Brooks Koepke and Patrick Reed have bailed on the LIV Tour this year. Maybe they wanted to be ahead of the closure. All those players.... I don’t blame them of taking the money ... if someone waved $100 million in front of me it would be hard to turn down. But the league has not caught on and players who join it essentially disappear, unless they are good enough that they turn up at the golf majors. So how long will the Saudis support this money-losing venture?
-PJ
The PGA Tour will certainly welcome back the big names such as DeChambeau and Rahm. The journeyman players are going to face difficulties. Maybe they'll have to go back to Q School? Maybe just pay a fee for temporary status on The Tour?
Just as an aside none of the LIV players fared very well at The Master's. I think the three-round format of the LIV Tour hurts those players when they have to play in the more normal four-round format.
It was a bad investment. They thought if the outright bought a lot of top PGA and DP World Tour talent that the fans - and TV viewers and TV revenue would follow. It didn’t work.
Most PGA golf fans stuck with the PGA and Liv events never got a big following. Now some who went to Liv are coming back to the PGA and in mixed events where top PGA golfers and Liv golfers are competing, most of the Liv golfers are not finishing in the top ten.
Imagine superstars like Dechambeau and Rahm being compelled to play in over-crowded fields, endure all the slow play, have to show up on Wednesday to play with amateurs...and not even owning their own NIL (name, image, likeness) that college atheletes now enjoy. LIV competition did push significant PGA Tour reforms.
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