LIV Golf Faces Collapse as PIF Withdraws Funding, Players Seek Return to PGA Tour

Key facts

• LIV Golf's sole backer, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, is withdrawing funding after 2026.
• PIF has committed over $5 billion to LIV since its 2022 launch.
• The PGA Tour's Returning Member Program, which allowed only four LIV players to return, closed on Feb. 2 and will not be renewed.
• Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau declined the Returning Member Program; DeChambeau sought a new deal worth over $300 million.
• a 100% revenue increase in 2026 and appointed a new independent board to seek long-term investors.
• Eleven LIV players who joined an antitrust suit against the PGA Tour face additional scrutiny upon return.
• LIV CEO Scott O'Neil signaled that the league's future may not resemble its present.

A League on the Brink

LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit that upended professional golf, is facing an existential crisis. The Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has poured more than $5 billion into the league since its 2022 launch, is withdrawing its financial backing after 2026, according to sources familiar with the matter. One of the remaining scheduled LIV events has already been postponed, and players and staff are expected to be informed as early as Thursday. With its primary benefactor pulling out, LIV Golf must now secure replacement capital from external investors—a task made daunting by the league's lack of a major television rights deal and no clear path to profitability. The league's CEO, Scott O'Neil, has already indicated that any future iteration of LIV may look very different from the present.

A Narrow and Closing Window for Return

Representatives for multiple LIV players have contacted the PGA Tour to discuss a potential return, according to people familiar with the conversations. However, the conditions for reentry are expected to be considerably more restrictive than those granted to Brooks Koepka earlier this year. Koepka benefited from the PGA Tour's Returning Member Program, a performance-based pathway for players who had been away for at least two years and had won a major or the Players Championship between 2022 and 2025. Only three other LIV players qualified: Cam Smith, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau. All three passed on the opportunity, and the program's window closed on Feb. 2 with no guarantee of a second offer. A PGA Tour source confirmed that the program will not be renewed, saying, "The situation is different now."

The Complicated Cases of Rahm and DeChambeau

Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau present the most complex challenges for the PGA Tour. Rahm's defection at the end of 2023 is seen internally as having prolonged the conflict by a full year, giving LIV validation when it was on the ropes. He is also embroiled in a dispute over membership reinstatement on the DP World Tour, which affects his 2027 Ryder Cup eligibility. The DP World Tour has been working to find him a path back, but Rahm has shown no sign of softening his position. DeChambeau, meanwhile, remains LIV's most prominent and commercially valuable figure. In the weeks before the Masters, his representatives approached LIV about a new deal, seeking a figure well above $300 million contract. LIV did not engage at that level. Sources say DeChambeau's view of the league has shifted, and he now regards it as having underdelivered on its initial vision. His representatives have reached out to the PGA Tour to explore options, but his return is complicated by his involvement in the antitrust suit against the tour.

Antitrust Litigation and Lingering Resentment

The 11 LIV players who joined the antitrust suit against the PGA Tour—including DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Talor Gooch, and Ian Poulter—are expected to face additional scrutiny upon return. Resentment over the litigation persists among tour members. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp acknowledged the tension, stating, "I don’t necessarily have scar tissue, but there are plenty of people around our tour who do. It has to be accounted for in some shape or form." The PGA Tour's rules and regulations include different categories of membership, and some LIV players violated those regulations when they left. Players like Patrick Reed resigned their membership, while others never officially did. The tour will sort returning players into separate categories, such as former members and those who never held status on the tour at all.

A Precedent Under Pressure

A PGA Tour that includes Rahm and DeChambeau would be a stronger product, boosting ratings, sponsor interest, and the depth of marquee events. Officials recognize this, but they also face a difficult position. Both players were offered a defined pathway back through the Returning Member Program and chose not to take it. Readmitting them now—not because they have reconsidered the benefits of the tour, as Koepka did, but because LIV's collapse has eliminated their alternatives—would carry a different meaning. Internally, there is concern that such a move would signal the tour is willing to revise its own framework under pressure. With significant structural changes to the PGA Tour's schedule, governance, and competitive model still being finalized, the precedent matters. Rolapp can ill afford to appear weak as he attempts to consolidate authority and credibility early in his tenure.

The Uncertain Future of LIV Golf

LIV Golf has announced new board appointments as it focuses on securing long-term financial partners. The league appointed Gene Davis and Jon Zinman to a newly established independent board, tasked with guiding the league through its next phase. Davis, chairman of the Independent Directors Committee, stated, "LIV Golf has built something truly differentiated... We see a clear opportunity to help the league formalize its structure, attract and secure long-term capital, and position the business for growth." a 100% increase in revenue year over year in 2026, but any prospective investor would inherit a venture that the world's most aggressive sovereign wealth fund concluded was no longer worth sustaining. The process of identifying a buyer, conducting due diligence, and restructuring financial commitments would likely extend well beyond the current funding runway. In the interim, LIV contracts may go unfulfilled, more events may be reduced or canceled, and players weighing a return to the PGA Tour or DP World Tour will be doing so against a closing window.

The bottom line

• LIV Golf is losing its PIF funding after 2026, with one event already postponed and players to be informed imminently.
• The PGA Tour's Returning Member Program, which allowed only four LIV players to return, has closed and will not be renewed.
• Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau face significant hurdles to return, including litigation and internal resentment.
• LIV Golf has appointed a new independent board to seek external investors, but the league's lack of profitability and TV deal makes this challenging.
• The PGA Tour is wary of setting a precedent by readmitting players on terms dictated by LIV's collapse rather than its own program.
• Players returning from LIV may face different membership categories and additional scrutiny, especially those involved in the antitrust suit.