sports
Is this the end for LIV? Where does Saudi withdrawal leave golf and the players?
Can LIV find new backers and what are the options for Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Lee Westwood and others?
TL;DR
- Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is expected to stop funding the LIV Golf tour.
- LIV Golf, reliant on over $5bn from PIF since 2021, may cease its 14-event format by 2026 due to unsustainable cash burn.
- LIV's CEO is seeking new backers, but the PGA Tour is seen as having won its battle with the disruptive competitor.
- Key players like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm face an uncertain future, with potential but complicated options for returning to the PGA Tour.
- The PGA Tour holds a stronger negotiating position for returning LIV players, but internal sentiment among its members who resisted LIV may complicate things.
- The DP World Tour could potentially benefit from golfers seeking a pre-PGA Tour home or a LIV equivalent, given its global outlook.
- Other sports are cautioned about becoming overly reliant on regime-backed funding, as illustrated by PIF's sudden withdrawal from LIV.
- LIV's existence inflated golf purses and distorted its commercial basis, leading to an expected recalibration across the sport.