Saudi Arabia Pulls the Plug on LIV Golf

posted on: May 6, 2026

By Ben Samuels/Arab America Contributing Writer

LIV golf was founded in 2021 and officially launched in 2022 as a potential high level competitor to the infamous PGA tour, LIV was backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund in an attempt to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil and towards entertainment as part of the 2030 initiative, massive amounts of capital were put into LIV and getting into golf was seen as an immediate attempt to expand in the world of sports thus increasing tourism and revenue for the kingdom. LIV events are shorter than PGA ones as they feature 54-hole competition with no cuts. LIV featured top names such as John Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Phil Mickelson, who were incentivized with lucrative contracts. However, as of late April, Saudi Arabia announced it would no longer fund LIV golf due to financial constraints, leaving LIV and its golfers in a do-or-die situation, as there is currently no funding. Overall, this act raises questions not only about the future of LIV Golf but also about the sustainability of Saudi Arabia’s broader investment strategy under Vision 2030.

Failure of LIV

In late April, it was announced that the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund would withdraw its allocated funding for the tour. According to Forbes, they have poured over 5 billion into funding, with purses ranging from 25-50 million, as well as multi-hundred-million-dollar contracts for some of the game’s top stars. Regarding the contracts, Jon Rahm inked a $300 million deal, $200 million for Mickelson, and $100 million for Koepka, among others, showing the massive sums the investment fund poured into the tour. LIV has relied almost exclusively on this funding to run its events, leaving it in a very tough economic spot without it. Regarding why the funding was pulled, the tour failed to match, let alone exceed, the PGA Tour in overall engagement, which is where these promotions make a large chunk of their profit. LIV failed to get long-term sponsorships from major brands, which hurt their ability to create sustainable revenue while also not getting as much viewership both in person and on TV as they expected and would have needed to be able to do in order to turn a successful profit with wide margins that make the 5 billion dollar investment worth it. Due to financial instability, those in power at the fund decided to withdraw funding, as the investment had not been profitable over the last few years. This puts some of golf’s biggest names at a crossroads as they are unsure if they will be able to break their contracts and participate in other events, as the choice they made to switch over to LIV for lucrative contracts may turn out to be too risky, as LIV will scramble to find new investors to fund the tour. 

Implications for 2030

The Saudi 2030 initiative launched in 2016 with the goal of diversifying Saudi economic endeavors, as they have been heavily reliant on oil as the major export and source of wealth. Entertainment has been the focal point of the project, as billions have been poured into tourist attractions and sporting events such as boxing through the Riyadh Season promotion, which has generated massive wealth for the nation. LIV Golf was supposed to be a crucial part of the initiative, but with the fund withdrawing its funding, the outlook for the initiative will change. It’s likely Saudi Arabia will start moving away from pumping money into sports, as its $ 5 billion investment proved unprofitable. The main difference between LIV and other projects is that LIV was international, whereas Riyadh season is held exclusively within the kingdom’s borders. It seems likely that future endeavors will stay domestic, as the international tour failed after only 4 years. Overall, the failure of LIV golf signals a change in allocation of funds for the initiative, as it will likely move towards a more domestic approach.  

Conclusion

Overall, the withdrawal of LIV Golf’s funding is a sign of the nature of professional golf, as the PGA Tour will prevail as the premier tour for both golfers and fans. LIV was unable to draw viewers or sponsorship numbers that matched or surpassed those of the PGA Tour while spending large sums on producing the tour. The 2030 initiative will likely take a more domestic approach, with caution regarding sports, as the fund seeks to avoid another failure of this nature.

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