Amid swirling rumors of its demise, LIV Golf’s leadership is in damage control mode. However, a $373M move by its Saudi paymasters may speak louder than any internal memo.

According to FOS senior writer Daniel Roberts, the situation behind the scenes is not as dramatic as some reports suggest. Roberts said the message was very simple: LIV told the staff that it is talking to the big bosses at the PIF every single day. And O’Neil said that the PIF hasn’t told them to stop. For now, it is “business as usual,” which means they are keeping the lights on and the games going.

It’s a massive relief for both the golfers and the league, especially after recent reports that the PIF might prepare to cut off funding.

That possibility has become more relevant after the recent $373 million sale of football club Al-Hilal by PIF (it pays for LIV Golf) to a private company, a move many see as part of a broader strategy. It suggests a shift in strategy where PIF prioritizes ROI (return on investment) and domestic projects over subsidizing massive, loss-making international ventures.

Scott O’Neil was quick to address those concerns, stressing that the tour remains fully operational and focused on the season ahead.

“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle. 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,” O’Neil confirmed.

Meanwhile, Sergio Garcia has already hinted that the players were told something similar. Ahead of Thursday’s opening round at LIV Mexico, the Fireballs captain said they were told that the tour would last for “many years.”

“That is not what Yasir [Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF] told us at the beginning of the year. [He told us] that he is behind us, that they have a project of many years. There are always rumours.”

While the next step gets clarified, O’Neil said that the tour is funded through this season. And then they have to “work like crazy” to make a plan to keep going.

“The reality is you’re funded through the season, and then you work like crazy as a business to create a business and a business plan to keep us going,” the LIV Golf CEO said.

That is where the picture becomes more complicated. If the PIF scales back or walks away, LIV Golf would likely have to find outside partners to keep the league alive. O’Neil may point to nearly half a billion dollars in sponsorship agreements with Rolex, HSBC, Aramco, and Salesforce as proof that the commercial side of the business is developing. But as SI’s Bob Harig has noted, several of those partnerships, such as Aramco or Riyadh Air, are connected to Saudi interests, making the revenue picture less independent than it may appear.

Harig put it, “It’s transferring money from one pocket to another.”

Even so, LIV has taken steps to trim costs heading into 2026. It slashed the season-ending Individual Championship prize from $18 million to $6 million. It also reduced the Team Championship purse from $50 million to $40 million. If necessary, it can reduce it further. The same can happen with the players’ contracts as well.

In the past, LIV Golf paid the fines levied against its players by the DP World Tour. It ended at the close of 2025. Starting in 2026, players became personally liable for their own fines. It is a sign that the league is at least preparing for a more disciplined financial model.

The bigger question, however, remains unchanged:

Can LIV survive without the PIF fund?

LIV Golf has lost plenty since it started in 2021—more than $1.1 billion! That is a great number. In 2024 alone, it lost $462 million in its international markets outside the US. PIF’s overall investment in LIV was reportedly approaching $5 billion, while broadcast rights raised just $2.7 million. Burning through $100 million every month is a very tough way to run a business.

In February, O’Neil said it might take five to ten more years before the tour actually starts making a profit. This means the path forward will not be easy. They have to earn more money than they spend. And they have to do it while people are watching to see if they will fail.

In January, a senior source in Saudi Arabia told BBC Sport that there was a shift in the kingdom’s attitude toward some investments, and that additional money had been invested in AI and the tech sector.

“There is pressure in Saudi Arabia to make sure that we’re inviting in the right things that are sustainable and bring a return, and I don’t see how LIV Golf is going to do that. It has had new sponsors such as Rolex and HSBC, but that’s not enough to get anywhere close to what the players are being paid,” the source added.

Harig also thinks the same. The SI journalist added, LIV won’t last ‘for long’.

He added, “LIV has almost exclusively been propped up by the PIF. While it has made significant inroads in places like Australia, South Africa and even South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong, the overhead is enormous without a lucrative television media rights deal and title sponsorship. It’s a huge undertaking. LIV has secured more sponsors but there’s never been a sense that they are paying a huge sum that would underwrite the majority of an event.”

And it makes sense.

But even with all these scary stories, O’Neil still believes in his “7.5 billion person bet.” He thinks golf is better with LIV in it. He wants to grow the game all over the world, not just in the United States. The CEO says that even players on the other tour (the PGA Tour) should want LIV to survive because competition makes everything better for the players.