Players told LIV Golf to run 'for many years' amid collapse rumours

ByTimothy Abraham

BBC Sport journalist

Sergio Garcia says LIV Golf's players were told earlier this year the event would run for "many years" as rumours swirl the Saudi-backed venture is on the verge of collapse.

The Financial Times, external is among the publications to report that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is on the verge of ending its support for LIV Golf, which would jeopardise its future.

Garcia said on the eve of the LIV Mexico tournament that the players "have not heard anything" in relation to the rumours.

But the 46-year-old Spaniard, who is captain of the Fireballs team in LIV, told a news conference that speculation runs contrary to what PIF officials indicated at the start of 2026.

"That is not what Yasir [Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF] told us at the beginning of the year," Garcia said.

"[He told us] that he is behind us, that they have a project of many years. There are always rumours and I cannot comment anything more to you than what we know."

LIV players were told at their most recent event that funding is in place until at least 2032.

BBC Sport has approached LIV Golf for comment.

Last year it was revealed LIV's net losses in its international markets outside the US had spiralled to $461.8m in 2024, meaning it had lost more than $1.1bn since it was established in 2021.

PIF's overall investment in LIV was reportedly approaching $5bn, while broadcast rights were said to have raised just $2.7m.

LIV chief executive Scott O'Neil said in February that the tour would not be profitable for another five to 10 years.

In January, a senior source in Saudi Arabia told BBC Sport that towards the end of last year there was "a shift" in the kingdom's attitude towards some investments, with "everything in the PIF world under serious review".

The source added: "More money has been put into AI and the tech sector. There is pressure in Saudi Arabia to make sure that we're inviting in the right things that are sustainable and bring a return, and I don't see how LIV Golf is going to do that.

"It has had new sponsors such as Rolex and HSBC, but that's not enough to get anywhere close to what the players are being paid."

LIV caused a 'civil war' in professional golf in 2022 when they started luring star names away from the PGA Tour with the offer of huge pay increases.

The PGA Tour and DP World Tour announced in 2023 they had agreed to a merger with PIF, but there is still no sign of the union coming to fruition.

However, in the meantime, a small number of LIV-affiliated players have been permitted to return to compete in select DP World Tour and PGA Tour events under certain circumstances.

With LIV Golf not yet responding to the BBC's requests for comment, and senior golfing officials telling us they are also trying to clarify what the situation is, uncertainly surrounds the circuit's future.

One Saudi source told us that the speculation could be linked to the publication on Thursday of a new four-year strategy for the country's sovereign wealth fund PIF, which bankrolls LIV.

Even before the recent conflict in the Middle East, there had been a sense that the PIF was placing a new emphasis on more sustainable investments, and that its plans for LIV were under renewed scrutiny, especially with the 2034 World Cup being seen as a bigger sporting priority.

That uncertainty ramped up after top LIV star Brooks Koepka's return to the PGA Tour early this year.

And then in February, amid billions of dollars of investment and major financial losses, LIV's chief executive admitted it could take a further decade for it to return a profit.

Nonetheless, if Saudi Arabia did seriously reduce or even end its commitment to the breakaway series, it would still be a seismic development for the sport.

LIV has driven a wedge through golf for the past five years, and given the scale of the stated ambition and amounts of money already invested, any such development would raise major questions about the rest of the kingdom's vast sporting enterprises.

LIV's arrival shook men's professional golf to its core by recruiting some of the game's biggest names.

But even with major-winning stars such as Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Koepka, Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson, the breakaway tour struggled to attract television viewers.

Tournaments in Adelaide and Johannesburg have been successful sell-out events, but the wider ambition to create teams capable of attracting significant outside investment, in the way cricket's Indian Premier League (IPL) does, has not materialised.

So financially LIV has not come close to offering a return on the kingdom's massive investment. Meanwhile, many of their players have struggled to remain competitive against those playing on the established tours.

Although Koepka and DeChambeau won majors while competing on LIV, their players have rarely made an impact on the biggest stage. England's Tyrrell Hatton was the only LIV player to contend at last week's Masters.

Koepka's decision to go back to the PGA Tour at the start of this year was a big blow, as was Patrick Reed's decision to quit LIV.

Koepka took advantage of a hastily arranged returning player programme which was also available to Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith, who all declined. Whether that opportunity is still available remains to be seen.

More likely, LIV golfers who automatically face a one-year ban from the PGA Tour could follow Reed's example and play a season on the DP World Tour to try to win back a card on the US circuit.

If Saudi Arabia decide to shut down the LIV project, they might look to invest in the DP World Tour to maintain some involvement in men's professional golf.