LIV Golf plans to tell players and staff this week that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will stop funding the circuit after this season, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
The respected publication said on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) that LIV Golf would inform players and staff by Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
LIV did not immediately respond when asked by Reuters for comment.
Launched in 2022 and backed by the PIF, the LIV circuit disrupted professional golf by signing several top players to lucrative contracts, including major winners Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson.
Tournaments have proven extremely popular with golf fans around the world, with the LIV tournament in Adelaide being a massive drawcard for the South Australian capital.
The WSJ report comes two weeks after sources close to the matter told Reuters that LIV’s 2026 season would proceed as scheduled with the full backing of the PIF, pushing back against reports that the circuit was facing a funding crisis.
LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil told players in an email seen by Reuters that the season would continue “exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle”.
LIV has sought to grow golf globally but has drawn criticism from human rights groups, who say Saudi Arabia is using sport to improve its reputation despite criticism of its human rights record.
The Saudi government denies accusations of human rights abuses.
The PGA Tour, PIF and Europe-based DP World Tour announced a framework agreement in June 2023 to combine their commercial operations, but a definitive deal has yet to be completed.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the PGA Tour is not prepared to automatically welcome back LIV players, with any returns likely to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Koepka and former Masters champion Patrick Reed have already left LIV in recent months.
Proudly Australian owned and operated