The internet was awash with rumours that the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the financial backers of LIV Golf, were about to pull the plug on the venture and that this week’s LIV Golf Mexico at Club de Golf Chapultepec may not even happen, but those suggestions now appear to have been wide of the mark.
Ryan French, the man behind the ‘Monday Q Info’ X account, speaking on ‘The Takesmen’ on X Spaces – a golf-related live group broadcast on the social media platform – suggested that credible sources had informed him that the end was nigh, and this was backed up by a Financial Times report in which it was further claimed that insiders had revealed that an announcement on the kingdom’s involvement in LIV could come as early as Thursday.
Those claims now seem premature, as an email from LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil to LIV Golf staff has been shared in which the American, who replaced Greg Norman in the role, informed the staff that the show would go on.
“I want to be crystal clear: our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil wrote. “While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.
“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure. We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”
What is less clear, is whether the PIF intends to extend its funding for 2027 and beyond.
O’Neil told the Financial Times back in February that LIV Golf would likely not become a profitable venture for “another five to 10 years”, and this, combined with Saudi Arabia’s intent to cut back on expenditure as revealed in their new five-year plan in which domestic investments will be prioritised, casts further doubt on the viability, with the current US-Israeli war with Iran adding to the strain.
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard was on the grounds at Club de Golf Chapultepec yesterday, and in a video shared online and that can be watched below, Hoggard claimed to have spoken to numerous players and vendors who hadn’t been paid in recent weeks.
BREAKING NEWS per @FT report: PIF is on the verge of ending its funding of LIV Golf. No final decision has yet been made.
Head to Golf Channel for live analysis and coverage. pic.twitter.com/4o9035HejA
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) April 15, 2026
Nevertheless, the Wednesday Pro-Am proceeded as planned, and several players, including Sergio Garcia and Mexican natives Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz reported for media duty. Garcia was the only player asked about the rumours that were circulating and he claimed to be unaware of any potential withdrawal of funding.
“No, honestly, we haven’t heard anything other than what Yasir [Al-Rumayyan, PIF Governor] told us at the beginning of the year,” Garcia said. “That he’s interested in us, that they have a long-term project. And well, you know how these rumors are. There are always a lot of them. And I can’t tell you anything more than what we already know.”
There have already been five LIV Golf events staged in 2026, with the first visit to South Africa in particular deemed a major success, but there are eight more events scheduled after Mexico with a three-week break before its first United States-based event is due to kick off in Virginia on May 07.
O’Neil, however, acknowledges the hurdles that the league has and continues to face, and remained bullish.
“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure,” O’Neil wrote. “We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo.
“We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”
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