Major Saudi PIF bombshell could have implications for PGA Tour, LIV Golf future

LIV Golf boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan has confirmed the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) plans to significantly cut its global spending, according to a report in the Financial Times. 

Al-Rumayyan made the revelation during a Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. 

The latest update falls during a period where the LIV Golf League season has finished and the PIF is attempting to thrash out a deal with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to house all of its commercial operations in a for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises. 

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The framework agreement between PIF, PGA Tour and DP World Tour expired at the end of 2023, but all sides have continued to hold showdown talks throughout the 2024 season.

All parties are trying to come to terms on a deal that would see LIV Golf's bankrollers, the Saudi PIF, inject more than $1 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises.

A DP World communications officer recently admitted a deal is likely to be reached before The Masters in April 2025. 

That came just days after Saudi PIF governor Al-Rumayyan and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan played golf together during the Dunhill Links Pro-Am on the DP World Tour earlier this month. Rory McIlroy joined too. 

Saudi PIF announces plans to curb its spending

While there is no doubt the Saudi PIF remains the biggest powerhouse in sport right now, and especially golf, it has come to light today that plans are in the works to limit its global spend. 

Saudi PIF is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of $925 billion.

According to the Financial Times, Saudi PIF governor Al-Rumayyan confirmed during the Future Investment Intiative conference in Riyadh that PIF's global spend had "increased from 2% all the way up to 30%."

Al-Rumayyan continued: “Now our target is to bring it down to a range between 18 to 20%. 

"We’re more focused on the domestic economy and we’ve been achieving and doing so many big things."

Whether the forthcoming cut in PIF's global spend has implications for all things LIV Golf and PGA Tour remains to be seen. 

But it does likely mean there will not be any big-money signings coming in from the PGA Tour in 2025, unlike recent years. 

LIV Golf splashed the cash on its biggest PGA Tour player signing to date 12 months ago following the signature of two-time major champion Jon Rahm, who put pen to paper on a reported $600m deal. 

Other high-profile players to have joined LIV from the PGA Tour in recent seasons include major winners Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, who all accepted reported deals in the region of $100m and $200m. 

It is believed more than $2 billion has been poured into LIV Golf from the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund since its inauguration in the summer of 2022. 

And billions more has been pumped into other ventures as part of its plan to diversify the country's economy beyond oil.

But due to rising costs, the fund is now going to be scaling back some of its projects. 

Saudi Arabia PIF shares a significant global interest in football, none bigger than owning Newcastle United F.C. in England's Premier League. 

The kingdom is understood to have forked out $305m for an 85% share of the Magpies. 

Saudi PIF is also reportedly in the process of securing the rights to host the 2034 World Cup. 

Tennis, F1 are boxing are just three other sports backed by PIF heading into 2025. 

PIF's strategy to pump billions of dollars into the world of sport has been met by strong criticism from a lot of people out there. 

Saudi Arabia has been accused of attempting to launder its reputation on the global sporting stage amid concerns over human rights breaches in the kingdom.

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