Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund to Halt Funding for LIV Golf

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia is withdrawing from LIV Golf. On April 29 (local time), The Wall Street Journal exclusively reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that LIV Golf will notify players and staff of the suspension of funding from the PIF by the end of this month. Launched in 2021 with backing from Saudi Arabia, LIV Golf attracted attention by recruiting top-ranked global players and introducing a different competition format from the PGA Tour. In the early stages, it experimented with a 54-hole, three-round format instead of the traditional 72-hole play. The league also broke with golf tradition by allowing athletes to wear shorts. However, despite pouring approximately $5 billion (about 7.44 trillion won) into the league over the past four years, LIV Golf has faced difficulties due to low attendance and poor TV ratings. There have also been tensions between players who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf and those who remained with the PGA. Some play