LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil assured staff that the season will proceed uninterrupted despite reports of potential funding cuts from backer Saudi Public Investment Fund. The league's event in Mexico City carried on with practice rounds and a pro-am as scheduled. Players dismissed rumors, citing ongoing support from PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
Reports from the Financial Times, New York Times and Wall Street Journal indicated Wednesday that the Saudi Public Investment Fund was poised to withdraw support from LIV Golf. The fund announced a strategic shift toward efficiency and governance that same day, later selling its stake in soccer club Al Hilal on Thursday. These developments followed reduced Saudi oil production amid regional tensions, including a war in Iran that strained PIF resources. O’Neil responded via email: “Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle. While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass.” At Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and others played a practice round Tuesday, with a pro-am Wednesday and Thursday tee times released on schedule. Sergio Garcia told reporters, “We haven’t heard anything other than what Yasir told us at the beginning of the year. That he’s behind us, that they have a long-term project. You know there are always a lot of rumors.” Executives met urgently in New York, though an agent described the Mexico site as business as usual. LIV has faced losses since 2022 but received a $266.6 million injection earlier this year and gained Official World Golf Ranking points eligibility. Failed merger talks with the PGA Tour, including a 2025 White House meeting hosted by President Donald Trump, have left both leagues pursuing separate paths.
