The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia has withdrawn funding from LIV Golf, leaving the three-year-old circuit without its $2 billion committed capital base and searching for replacement investors. The move comes as the PGA Tour announced it will sanctioned and support the Australian Open beginning in 2027, a scheduling decision that closes another international market to LIV.
PIF's exit was not disclosed publicly by either party. Three executives with knowledge of the discussions said the fund notified LIV Golf Commissioner Greg Norman in March that it would not renew its multi-year commitment beyond the current season. LIV has staged 54-hole, no-cut events across fourteen markets since June 2022, paying guaranteed contracts worth an estimated $800 million to players including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka. The circuit has not yet secured a U.S. broadcast partner beyond its current CW Network arrangement, which pays LIV nothing and relies on sponsor inventory sales to cover production costs.
The Australian Open decision carries more weight than a single tournament. Golf Australia, which owns the event, had been in conversations with both tours about long-term sanctioning. The PGA Tour's agreement guarantees the tournament a spot on the Tour's international swing and brings committed prize money of at least $2 million annually, according to two people familiar with the terms. LIV had proposed a similar arrangement in 2023 but could not finalize terms before losing its Adelaide event to low ticket sales that same year. The Tour's move effectively blocks LIV from returning to Australia, where it briefly held events in 2023 before pulling out.
What this means for team operators and sponsors: LIV Golf's twelve franchise teams were sold to investors including former PGA Tour board member Jimmy Dunne, who paid approximately $50 million for a stake in Cleeks GC. Those teams were structured as revenue-sharing entities dependent on league-level media rights and sponsorship deals that have not materialized at projected levels. PIF's withdrawal removes the backstop capital that had allowed LIV to guarantee player salaries regardless of commercial performance. Franchise owners now face either writing additional checks to cover operating shortfalls or negotiating a restructuring that could dilute their equity positions.
Sponsor exposure is the more immediate problem. LIV's lack of a traditional media deal means brands pay for on-course signage and hospitality but receive limited broadcast impressions. The circuit's largest sponsor, Saudi-owned Aramco, is not expected to increase its commitment without PIF's backing, according to one executive who has reviewed LIV's 2026 budget. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour's Australian Open sponsorship package includes broadcast distribution across Nine Network in Australia and likely Sky Sports in the UK, markets where LIV has struggled to gain carriage.
The timing compounds LIV's challenges. Merger talks between the PGA Tour and PIF, announced in June 2023, have produced no finalized agreement. Former board member Dunne told reporters this week he regrets his involvement in those discussions, a signal that even early advocates see diminishing upside. Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has privately told sponsors that any merger would likely involve the Tour absorbing select LIV players rather than integrating the full circuit, according to two people who attended those meetings.
What to watch: LIV's next funding round will clarify whether private equity or sovereign wealth funds outside Saudi Arabia see value in the circuit's team-based model. Ares Management and Sixth Street Partners, both active in sports investing, have been approached but have not committed capital. The Tour's Australian Open agreement begins in 2027, giving LIV roughly eighteen months to secure a replacement Southern Hemisphere event if it intends to maintain global reach. Norman's contract runs through 2026.
LIV Golf's original pitch was that golf's broadcast model was broken and team-based formats could unlock younger demographics. The reality is simpler: the circuit spent $2 billion to prove that live sports require either endemic audience demand or patient capital, and it is running out of both.
The takeaway
PIF's exit leaves LIV hunting capital while PGA Tour locks Australia, narrowing paths to relevance for Norman's circuit.
liv golfpga tourpifaustralian opensports financegolf
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