Among the endless questions about the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s decision to stop supporting LIV Golf after the conclusion of the 2026 season is where the fund reached its decision. News of the PIF withdrawal first surfaced on April 14 with a tweet from Ryan French, host of Monday Q Info, before gathering steam in the following days with reports from multiple outlets. The PIF officially announced its decision on April 30.
At the 2026 Masters, which ends on April 12, LIV players seem to be oblivious to the pivot of the defenders. That includes the tournament’s biggest star, Bryson DeChambeau, who told me at LIV Virginia last week that during Masters week he was completely in the dark about what would become public information.
“No clue, no clue,” DeChambeau said. “Then there were reports that I spoke to others [PGA Tour] people, and I wasn’t. During the Masters and after that, I did not speak.”
This is where things get weird, because, according to Rory McIlroy, players outside of LIV have been hearing glimpses of the PIF’s decision. before the Kings.
“I feel like a lot of us in this room, myself included, probably knew before the players did that this was going to happen,” McIlroy said after leaving the PGA Championship on Tuesday. “I was hearing about this back in March, around April.
That’s not to say the change in PIF strategy didn’t surprise McIlroy, because it did. At the height of the LIV-PGA Tour tension, McIlroy advocated for both leagues to find a middle ground, saying a merger would be “a good thing for golf as a whole.” In January 2025, McIlroy even discussed the possibility of a peace agreement with President Trump. McIlroy didn’t see the PIF going anywhere, and now, 17 months later, here we are with LIV Golf chasing new investors and its performance this season highly questionable.
“I can admit when I’m wrong, and that was another mistake I made,” McIlroy said. “I think it was always possible that it could happen. Look, I think everybody knows like everything that’s going on in the Middle East, there was a lot to do; but anytime you get funding that’s so tied to the state of the world, that’s a tough road to navigate.”
Among McIlroy’s friends on the LIV circuit are Ricky McCormick, who bagged at McIlroy’s childhood hangout, Holywood Golf Club, and now LIV pro Tom McKibbin. McIlroy said he spoke to McCormick before the LIV event in Mexico City – this was the week after the Masters, as news was breaking of the PIF decision – and asked him, “Have you heard any of this?”
McCormick’s response, according to McIlroy: “No, everything seems fine here.”
“It feels like the rug has been pulled out from under their feet and everyone has been at odds,” McIlory said. “But again, that’s a risk those guys chose to take. Like I said, it’s moving — there’s a lot of uncertainty in the air right now.”
Continuing the LIV food chain, however, there appeared to be indications that PIF was restless. When asked about the PIF decision last week, LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil said: “Was I surprised?
He continued: “It would be foolish to be surprised, and it would be foolish to think about anything other than how far we have to go to make sure we can continue to grow this game globally.”
That way has now grown a lot. O’Neil said GOLF.com last week that he and his advisers have a plan, parts of which they intend to begin sharing with players in the next week or so. That idea will likely be shared with potential investors as the league seeks new funding.
If the LIV reaches 2027, McIlroy said he expects big changes: “If they somehow put the program together next year, it looks like it’s going to look very different from what it looked like four years ago.”
