LIV Golf is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – and it appears the country will continue to bankroll the league after Wednesday’s announcement
LIV Golf have announced their first four tournaments for next year, with the Saudi-backed circuit starting in Riyadh.
LIV’s third “official” season, and fourth overall, will start with the event in Saudi Arabia on February 6-8 before tournaments in Adelaide, Hong Kong and Singapore. “As we set our sights on 2025, LIV Golf is gearing up for our most ambitious season start, to date,” said LIV’s commissioner and CEO Greg Norman in a statement on Wednesday.
Since our debut in 2022, LIV Golf has played 34 tournaments in nine different countries across four continents. We are a global league with a global footprint, and we’re excited to kick off next season with four truly international events that will deliver our unique blend of elite golf, entertainment and culture to fans around the world.”
LIV chiefs are yet to announce the rest of their 2025 schedule. The current season will soon end, with the individual championship set to be decided on September 13-15 in Chicago. This year’s team championship decider will take place in Dallas the following week.
Many LIV stars will use the rest of 2024 to focus on playing on other tours, including the DP World Tour. European LIV players who want to participate in the Ryder Cup, such as Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, must play at least four DP World Tour events during the 2024 season to remain eligible for the European team at Bethpage Black in 2025.
LIV’s inaugural season took place in 2022, with many players leaving the PGA Tour for the breakaway circuit since. That has caused a divide within golf.
The likes of Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka and Lee Westwood have turned their back on the PGA Tour after receiving lucrative contracts from the Saudis.
There’s a very good chance another high profile player will ditch the PGA Tour for LIV during the upcoming off-season, with Rahm and Hatton signing up ahead of the current campaign. Norman recently released a statement to celebrate LIV’s third anniversary, saying he “could not be prouder for finally achieving my lifelong vision”.
Many golfers are hoping a merger can take place between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in the near future, which would end the sport’s civil war. The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF announced a framework agreement more than a year ago, but fans and players are still waiting for the final deal to emerge.
