Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund plans to end its financial backing of LIV Golf after this season, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, April 29, and the league plans to tell players and staff by Thursday.
The news means Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and dozens of other pro golfers who abandoned the PGA Tour for nine-figure guaranteed contracts are now facing an uncertain future.
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And likely a humbling return to the tour they left.
The confirmation comes after two weeks of escalating reports, denials and deleted interviews. When a handful of outlets, including the Athletic, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reported that PIF was pulling its funding, LIV announcers took to the airwaves to attack those outlets as rumor mongers.
The news lands as LIV’s operational problems are mounting.
Louisiana announced Tuesday there would be no LIV tournament in New Orleans this June, and several LIV players have already sounded out the DP World Tour as part of their contingency plans if the league shuts down after the season.
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The league has received more than $5 billion from PIF, with losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The Iran War’s disruption of Saudi oil exports accelerated the reckoning, forcing PIF to prioritize domestic investments over international projects that were losing money, according to CBS Sports.
Rahm, DeChambeau and Cameron Smith all declined offers to return to the PGA Tour before a February deadline. That calculation has almost certainly changed.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LIV Golf future in doubt as Saudi Arabia reportedly pulls funding
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