LIV Golf chief says competition has funding for the season amid financial doubts

By Jamie Gardner, Press Association Chief Sports Reporter

The boss of LIV Golf says the series is “funded through the season” and would then “work like crazy” to keep going amid speculation its Saudi backers could withdraw their financial support.

The breakaway competition launched in 2021 and sent shockwaves through golf, positioning itself as a rival to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

However, speculation has mounted this week that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to end its backing, which is reported to be approaching five billion US dollars (£3.7bn) since the series was launched.

LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil was asked by TNT Sports about comments from Sergio Garcia – a LIV team captain – alluding to funding being in place through to 2030.

In the interview, O’Neil replied: “It’s just not the way the world works. We have commitments to have this being a going concern.

“The reality is, you’re funded through the season, and then you work like crazy as a business to create a business and a business plan to keep us going.

“But that’s not different from any other private equity-funded business in the history of mankind.”

Earlier in the week O’Neil wrote to LIV staff that the season “continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle”, making no reference to anything beyond this season.

The PIF has not commented on the matter.

The fund has this week set out its new four-year strategy. Its governor, Yasir Al Rumayyan, told Al Arabiya this week that as part of the strategy, some of its deals and investments were being “reviewed, whether due to war (in the Middle East) or for reasons related to economic feasibility”.

He added that the Middle East conflict, sparked by American and Israeli air strikes on Iran, “places greater pressure on the need to reposition certain priorities”.

Ryder Cup star Jon Rahm said he was “not too worried” about LIV’s future.

Spanish star Rahm, who is reported to have earned £64million since joining the series in 2023, was interviewed after the first round of the ongoing LIV event in Mexico City.

“Until the people in charge told me if the rumours were valid or not, it didn’t make sense for me to think about it or to waste time thinking about it,” he said, in quotes reported by Sky Sports.

“As everything suddenly came out, so quickly, I wasn’t too worried about that, because normally, before the rumours come out, we know something.

“There’s always someone in the league who knows something. It was so fast that I didn’t really worry about it.”