A golf tour that lost its only financial backer earlier this year says it has now found a lead investor, meaning the primary financial anchor for any new funding arrangement. LIV Golf disclosed this week that the investor has already signed an agreement, and the organization's board has approved it. The news came during the tour's New York-area event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, where President Donald Trump arrived by golf cart and drew cheers from the crowd.
Saudi Arabia's exit, and what it meant
LIV Golf ran on a single source of money. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the government's sovereign investment arm, was the tour's sole financial backer. Not its primary funder. Its only funder. In April, the fund announced it would stop providing that capital. With no other investors in place at the time, the tour faced a direct solvency question: could LIV continue operating past 2026? The PIF's withdrawal erased the only revenue line the tour had been built on.
What the agreement actually says, and what it does not
CEO Scott O'Neil said this week that a deal is in place. The tour described the investor as someone who has signed an agreement, approved by the board, to "anchor the transaction and play a key role in supporting the path forward for the League's next era, driven by and for the players." O'Neil did not name the investor. He gave no description of who or what they are. A signed agreement is a concrete step. A completed funding transaction is a different thing. The tour has confirmed the first. It has not announced the second.
Trump at Bedminster, for the third time
This weekend marks the third time LIV Golf has staged an event at one of Trump's properties. Trump was present for this year's Bedminster tournament. The New York Post reported that as he drove along the course in a golf cart, he received a large ovation from spectators. That reception tracks with how he has been greeted at previous LIV events held at his clubs. The tour still has not named its incoming investor.