For the very first time, in the next spring, the LPGA Tour will venture into new territory. As they will be joining hands with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. It has been scheduled to unfold in the 2026 Spring from April 2 at Shadow Creek Golf Course, in the glittering city of Las Vegas. The total purse for the event has been fixed at $4 million, making it one of the richest tournaments outside the women’s majors. For comparison, most regular LPGA events have purses in the $2–3 million range. 

After Craig Kessler took over just a few months back, this turned out to be a big moment for the new LPGA Commissioner. But while the debacle touched the roof surrounding the rift between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the LPGA is quietly accepting the sponsorship. But why?

Recently, after the LPGA announced that the Aramco Championship, where 120 players from the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour would participate, would be a Saudi-backed event, discussions started swirling. Reflecting on the same, TV personality and golf enthusiast Dan Rapaport shared the broader context of the scenario in his YouTube podcast, Dan on Golf. 

Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in the sector of sports sector has indeed been reshaping the era. Reflecting on the ongoing matter, Dan stated, “LPGA announced that it’ll be co-sanctioning an event with the PIF. Basically, it’s going to be its part of the PIF global series sponsored by Ramco in Las Vegas. So, it’s an LPGA event in the United States that’s just sponsored and kind of has the Saudis’ name all over it. This is, I think, how they wanted to get involved with the men’s game.” 

He rationalised the matter and explained, “But, you know, the LPGA is not in a position to say no to an influx of money. You know, it’s just they’re not in the same position that the PGA tour is in.” Highlighting the reasons furthermore, Rapport added, “There’s not the same cash running around. They’re not on the same level of established. So, they’ve sort of tiptoed into an alliance with the Saudis.” Saudi Arabia is now deeply entrenched in global sports, from golf and tennis to soccer and motorsports.

Just a few years back, in 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched LIV Golf, which immediately turned out to be the rival tour to the PGA Tour. LIV lured away top players with massive prize money and guaranteed contracts, sparking tension, lawsuits, and bans. The result was nothing but a fractured men’s game. But in contrast to that, instead of creating a competing women’s league, the PIF has partnered with the LPGA to host a co-sanctioned tournament.

However, when the PIF reached out to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, their partnership proposal was ignored. What followed was a power struggle that led to the creation of LIV Golf, resulting in years of division and public criticism across the sport. “We heard reports of, you know, they sent this letter to Jay Monahan wanting to sit down, and the letter was ignored and and then it became sort of like a you know what measuring contest between, you know, Jay and Yasi,r and it became very antagonistic and combative”, said Dan, referring to what unfolded in the past.

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How the PGA Tour rejected $1.5 billion LIV Golf reunification offer from PIF

Back in April 2025, LIV Golf handed the PGA Tour a whopping $1.5 billion reunification offer. Unfortunately, the PGA Tour was not seemingly at par with the offer. As a result, they rejected the proposal and continued as a separate individual body. Now, according to reports from The Guardian, it was revealed that LIV Golf sent the offer with a number of provisions. Firstly, LIV Golf was slated to continue in the future to some capacity. Furthermore, the PIF governor and LIV boss, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, would become the co-chair of PGA Tour Enterprises. 

Moreover, in an April 2025 report from Gold Digest, sources stated that the Tour has already been quite considerate of the PIF. Sadly, they could not satisfy, which led the Tour to come to a grim conclusion. The authorities assumed that the PIF might be failing to perceive the true struggles of LIV in the golf marketplace. And there’s more. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan made a clear statement at the Players’ Championship in March, saying that the Tour will come into an agreement on its own terms. 

“We will not do so in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and our partners,” Monahan said. “So while we’ve removed some hurdles, others remain. But like our fans, we still share the same sense of urgency to get to a resolution.” Meanwhile, keeping a positive stance on the matter, President Donald Trump, too, hoped that things would surely get sorted soon. Thus, with the tussle ongoing, the golfing world is eager to see what comes next.