Welcome to Issue #24
"If you want to ask me if this business is tough, I would say, ‘absolutely’. If you ask me if we’re managed very, very tightly, I would say, ‘absolutely’. Can this be challenging? ‘absolutely’.”
Scott O’Neil, LIV Golf CEO
What’s on my mind this week
What a week for LIV Golf from rumours of shutting down to lawsuits to technical broadcast issues, Shane Lowry with another ace, when did wedges get so expensive, Ryanair absolutely murdering Scottie Scheffler on social media, will Sergio manage not to break a club this week, even I could hit the fairway on 18 at Harbour Town.
In the news
Why it matters: Reports from the Financial Times, Fox News and The Athletic this week suggested Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is considering withdrawing financial backing from LIV Golf, triggering an emergency staff summit in New York and a defiant "full throttle" memo from CEO Scott O'Neil that conspicuously made no commitment beyond the 2026 season.
Our Take: Nothing has been officially confirmed. But the volume and credibility of the sourcing makes this more than noise. PIF published a new five-year strategy this week prioritising investment efficiency and value creation over rapid expansion, which is the real context here. At roughly $5.3 billion invested against an estimated $100 million in annual revenue, LIV remains a strategic bet rather than a commercial business. The question is whether that bet still aligns with PIF's evolving priorities. The instinct is to say they have spent too much to stop. A disciplined sovereign fund, however, treats sunk costs as sunk. The most plausible outcomes range from a funding reduction and cost restructuring to a full exit, with a revived merger conversation with the PGA Tour sitting somewhere in between. O'Neil's memo signed off with "you mattered." The phrasing raised eyebrows internally.