Saudi Arabia to pull investment from LIV Golf tour

“Saudi Arabia to pull investment from LIV Golf tour Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 04/30/2026 - 11:20 Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund to stop funding breakaway competition, as major projects continue to be scaled back South African golfer Charl Schwartzel plays a last shot on the 18th hole during the third and final day of a LIV Golf Invitational Series event in St Albans, UK, 11 June 2022 (AFP/Adrian Dennis) Off Saudi Arabia is set to withdraw its multibillion dollar investment in the LIV Golf tour at the end of this season, according to British media reports. Sources told the BBC that the breakaway tour would announce a “new strategic plan” on Thursday, and would try to find new financial investors. As part of the announcement, LIV Golf’s chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan is expected to resign, Sky Sports News reported. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which Rumayyan is the governor of, has pumped more than $5bn into the competition since it was launched in 2021. PIF’s bet on LIV Golf to rival the PGA Tour was one in a series of investments that were made in a bid to bolster the kingdom’s involvement in sports and entertainment, as it pushes to diversify its economy away from energy. But the tour had made losses in excess of $1.1bn outside of the US , and likely several billions in the US too, since it was established. Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith are among the golfers who compete on the tour. Even before the US- Israel i war on Iran , high-flying Saudi projects were being cancelled or massively scaled down. The kingdom’s finance minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan, said in December that it had “no ego” preventing it from reassessing projects. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia suspended construction of the Mukaab, a giant cube-shaped structure set to be built in downtown Riyadh. The kingdom also shelved plans to build a desert ski resort and a large dam for an artificial lake. Snooker and opera projects cancelled Elsewhere in the sporting world, the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters has been cancelled after just two editions, despite having initially signed a 10-year deal with the World Snooker Tour. “Following constructive discussions between The Saudi Billiard and Snooker Federation and Matchroom following the conclusion of the 2025 editions, it has been mutually agreed not to proceed with future editions of the World Pool Championship and the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters,” the snooker tour announced earlier this week. Saudi Arabia cuts $200m in Met Opera House funding due to Iran war: Report Read More » Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia pulled out of a $200m deal to support New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House due to economic hits it has suffered from the war, the New York Times reported last week. Peter Gelb, the Met Opera's general manager, told the NYT that the kingdom said its decision was based on damage to the country’s economy caused by the Iran war and the blockade of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz. “They are only doing the projects that are essential,” Gelb told the NYT, recalling his conversation with Saudi officials. The Met financing deal “falls outside what is essential”, he added. Rumayyan told Al Arabiya Business on Wednesday that the war on Iran was having an effect on PIF’s calculus, saying that “the war would add more pressure to reposition some priorities”. Rumayyan confirmed for the first time that a 170km straight-line city envisioned to be part of the larger Neom development was no longer a priority. "There are directives to Neom to reprioritise. Everyone thinks The ‌Line is Neom, but The Line is one project in Neom," he said. "Is it necessary to have The Line by 2030? I think no. It's good to have, but not a must-have," he said. Cutting ties with LIV Golf would align with the kingdom’s efforts to keep more of its sovereign wealth fund cash at home. PIF is estimated to be worth $1 trillion. Rumayyan said that PIF wanted 80 percent of its investments to go to local projects while it deployed 20 percent abroad, down from a high of 30 percent in recent years. Sport News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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