LIV Golf could be shut down as soon as TOMORROW with rebel tour’s fate in doubt after

LIV Golf executives reportedly jetted into New York for an emergency meeting this week as the fate of the rebel league hangs in the balance. 

It comes amid a separate report that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) could announce a decision on the future of LIV as soon as Thursday with it speculated that the sovereign wealth fund could cut its financial support. 

The golf league has been a disruptor in the sport since 2022, when it poached a host of the PGA Tour’s biggest names, including major champions Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, with lucrative multi-million-dollar contracts. 

However, the breakaway has undergone a series of changes this year, including the loss of two high-profile players, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed. 

And now, the international circuit could disappear altogether amid a report that PIF is on the verge of pulling its funding. 

It has emerged that PIF is considering cutting his funding to LIV after pumping about $5 billion into the tour over the past five years, according to the Financial Times. The fund is said to be actively considering the extent and duration of its support.

The wealth fund is expected to make its decision imminently and an announcement could come as soon as Thursday. 

PIF approved a new 2026-2030 strategy on Wednesday that redistributed the fund’s portfolio and examined its long-term direction. 

While the five-year plan was drawn up before the war in Iran broke out, governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan reportedly said that the conflict, which was initiated by joint US-Israel strikes, ‘would add more pressure to reposition some priorities.’

While no official decision has yet been made, LIV executives travelled to New York earlier this week for ‘an emergency summit.’

On the eve of LIV Golf’s $30million Mexico City tournament at Club de Golf Chapultepec, league executives were summoned to Manhattan for the crunch talks on Tuesday, according to a separate report from The Telegraph. The reason for the meeting was not provided. 

The future of the breakaway was first plunged into crisis when Monday Q Info, a reliable golf X account with almost 200,000 followers, claimed that multiple sources had informed it that ‘a bombshell announcement on LIV’s future is imminent.’

The account’s owner Ryan French later spoke on X Spaces and revealed thar he had heard from other people he trusts that LIV Golf is ‘shutting down.’ 

However, as tee times for this week’s tournament – the sixth of LIV’s fifth season -were released on Wednesday, players appeared to be in the dark as an agent for one of the three biggest names on the circuit told the Daily Mail: ‘I know as much as you.’

Another key player’s agent added that ‘everyone is confused but it doesn’t look like tournament will be canceled.’

The Daily Mail reached out to LIV Golf for comment but did not immediately receive a response.  

No pre-tournament press conferences took place on Tuesday with LIV Golf reportedly suffering ‘technical difficulties’ due to an alleged power failure at the venue.

However, it appeared to be business as usual for the breakaway on Wednesday when the Pro Am teed off at 8:30am local time. Fireballs GC, the team captained by Sergio Garcia, also held their press conference as scheduled. 

When asked about the rumor of LIV folding, Garcia responded: ‘We have not heard anything other than what Yasir [Al-Rumayyan] told us at the beginning of the year. He said that he is behind us and that they have a project of many years.’

LIV executives, including CEO Scott O’Neil, were spotted at Augusta National during last week’s Masters tournament. Yet, O’Neil was bullish when speaking about the future of the league with the Daily Mail at the time. 

The Masters proved to be a disaster for all but one of LIV’s stars competing at last week’s major championship as Augusta National laid bare the fall from grace of the former golfing titans. 

While Tyrrell Hatton clinched his place in next year’s Masters field with a tied-third finish two shots behind Rory McIlroy, many of LIV’s stars suffered lackluster and, frankly, humiliating runouts at Augusta.

DeChambeau, billed one of the favorites heading into the Masters, failed to make the cut. Rahm, despite a final-day rally, was a pale impression of the champion who won three years ago, finishing T-38. And Garcia was issued a code of conduct warning after a spectacular meltdown on the second tee box on Sunday. 

Following the disappointing Masters displays for the league and the subsequent claims about its future, renowned golf analyst Brandel Chamblee believes it could be the final nail in the coffin for LIV.

‘Given that the product was so ill-conceived and ended up being worse than anyone could have imagined,’ Chamblee posted on X.

‘With shotgun starts, initially 54 holes, a team concept that was nothing but laughable and tournaments that meant and continue to mean nothing, and such a paltry number of viewers, losing billions along the way – would it surprise anyone if the Saudis came to their senses and finally euthanized the whole lame-brained tour.’

Suggestion that the tour could disband comes at a surprising time after it underwent a major revamp ahead of the new season and even recently secured somewhat of a victory in its battle with the orthodox golfing establishment.

In November, it was confirmed that this season LIV would be ditching the 54-hole format that has been a staple selling point of the breakaway circuit since its inception. 

The circuit pivoted to 72 holes in line with the traditional approach, which was believed to be geared towards aiding LIV’s plight to finally be recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking body.

LIV’s initial failure to secure ranking points saw its star names plummet down the global standings, with the consequence that they have found it increasingly difficult to qualify for the four majors. 

It was a significant step, not least because the circuit’s very name is the Roman numeral of 54, and one that did not entirely pay off. 

While LIV finally gained OWGR recognition in February following three long years of campaigning, the ruling deemed that only players finishing inside the top-10 at LIV-sanctioned events would be awarded ranking points.

In making their determinations, OWGR chiefs reasoned that LIV Golf had still not met its eligibility criteria, even after the tour had announced that it would be moving to a 72-hole format.

The league issued a scathing statement, claiming that ‘no other tour in OWGR history had been subjected to such a restriction’.

To add insult to injury, Reed and Koepka, two of LIV’s marquee signings, walked away from the league earlier this year. 

Five-time major winner Koepka announced he was walking away from the final 12 months of his LIV deal shortly before Christmas. He was permitted to return to the PGA Tour under its ‘Returning Members Program’.

The scheme offered Koepka, who joined LIV for a signing fee in the region of $100million, a one-time reinstatement in exchange for a $5 million charity contribution and a five-year forfeiture of the PGA Tour’s Player Equity Program

It allowed any golfer who has won a major or the Players Championship between 2022 and 2025 to be welcomed back, opening the door to DeChambeau, Rahm and Cameron Smith. However, the trio did not follow suit and accept the offer. 

Shortly after Koepka’s exit, Reed also quit the rebel circuit in January, shortly after revealing that he was out of contract with the Saudi-backed circuit. 

However, unlike 2023 PGA Championship winner Koepka, Reed was not eligible for an immediate return to the PGA Tour. The 2018 Masters champion has instead been competing on Europe’s DP World Tour with the intention of returning to the PGA Tour for the 2027 season.