LIV Golf and PIF Sued by Proposed Breakaway Tour Amid Reports of Closing Down

LIV Golf and it's backers, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia are being sued by a breakaway tour, the Premier Golf League.

LIV Golf and PIF Sued by Proposed Breakaway Tour Amid Reports of Closing Down

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil (Image via ESPN)

LIV Golf and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) have come under the spotlight in recent days following several reports of the league closing down. Amidst this, they have been sued by the Premier Golf League, a proposed breakaway tour.

According to reports from Sky Sports, the Premier Golf League would file a lawsuit on April 16. They, along with their parent company, World Golf Group Limited, sued LIV Golf, their backers, PIF, various LIV Golf entities, and two individuals.

The Premier Golf League had a similar design to LIV Golf. The initial pitching for this breakaway tour came in 2019. The league, which was seen as an alternative to the PGA Tour, would have a concept of twelve, 4-man teams playing 54-holes without a cut while having $20 million purses.

The LIV Golf operates on a similar design. Backed by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, LIV Golf kick-started in 2021 and played its first season in 2022. Up until the 2024 season, they also had twelve, 4-man teams competing in $20 million purse events with no cuts.

After the joining of Jon Rahm, the league would expand to 13 teams with Legion XIII being the new team. Following the conclusion of the 2025 season, the league announced adapting to the 72-hole format and playing 4 round of golf. They, however, still do not feature a cut.

This lawsuit comes at a time when there have been some huge reports regarding their future. On Tuesday, The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that the PIF was on the verge of cutting the funding for LIV Golf. While nothing has been made official yet, there are reports that the Saudis could stop funding the breakaway tour after the end of the 2026 season.

So far, the PIF has invested over $5 billion into LIV Golf. It is expected to cross around $6 billion by the end of the year.

The creation of LIV Golf left the golf world divided. Several marquee names left the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour and jumped ship to play on the Saudi-backed tour. Some of them landed deals that were reported to be worth more than $100 million.

In January this year, Brooks Koepka became the first high-profile name to leave them and return to the PGA Tour. The 5-time major champion expressed his desire to leave them in December after spending 4 years and winning 5 titles on the PIF-backed circuit.

Later that month, Patrick Reed also left them. The 2018 Masters champion revealed that he wanted to compete in traditional golf events and was excited to come back to the PGA Tour.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil expressed that the 2026 season will go on as planned

The golf world was left in shock this week after several reports emerged regarding the future of LIV Golf. CEO Scott O’Neil would comment on this matter and express that the 2026 season will go as planned.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil
Scott O’Neil (Image via X/@NUCLRGOLF)

O’Neil, who took over the role of CEO in January 2025 and replaced Greg Norman, sent an e-mail to the staff that addressed the rumors of them closing down. In this, the former NFL executive claimed that their season will go as planned and have no interruptions.

I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle.

Scott O’Neil said

On Thursday, he once again made some comments. In an interview with LIV commentator Arlo White, O’Neil claimed that there would be some structural changes. However, he did not mention what those changes would be.

I talked about some structural changes. They’re coming. … I rolled out the plan. We have one, and it is, it’s gonna, it might surprise some people.

Scott O’Neil said regarding LIV Golf’s future

This week, the league is playing in Mexico at the Club de Golf Chapultepec. After the first round, Victor Perez is sitting at the top of the leaderboard with a 3-shot lead following a 9-under par score.

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