Sawt Falasteen - LIV Golf reassures players over Saudi withdrawal rumors

The Saudi-backed tour has bitterly divided the world of golf since its 2022 launch, when several of the sport's biggest names were lured to defect from the traditional PGA and DP World tours with huge-money deals.

Rumors have mounted in recent days that LIV Golf's deep-pocketed backers in Riyadh have cooled on the extravagantly expensive project, which has reportedly cost them over $5 billion so far.

And multiple outlets including the Financial Times, New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the near-$1-trillion Saudi sovereign wealth fund's withdrawal was imminent, all citing anonymous sources.

"I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle," LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil wrote in an email to staff, including players, obtained by AFP.

O'Neil's missive came as players assembled in Mexico City ahead of this week's LIV event, where tour organizers were presenting a business-as-usual front.

The tour posted first-round tee times as usual, and even poked fun at the rumors on social media.

"Slow news day? We are ON," said one post, alongside an image with the words "BREAKING NEWS. TUNE IN TOMORROW" and the Mexico City tournament's starting times.

"LIV Golf funding and operations are continuing as planned," sources familiar with the tour's workings told AFP, pointing to a doubling in tour revenue from 2024 to 2025, and recent record attendances in Australia and South Africa.

But Britain's Telegraph newspaper reported that LIV Golf executives had been called into a meeting in New York to discuss the potential fallout from a withdrawal of Saudi funding.

The speculation comes as the Saudi fund on Wednesday unveiled a new five-year strategy that will reorganize its investments -- an announcement that came against the backdrop of war in the Middle East.

The Gulf region has been hit hard by Iranian barrages on infrastructure, including airports, energy installations and ports following the US and Israeli attack on Iran in late February.

Even before the war, Saudi Arabia's economic reforms were coming under pressure, with persistently low oil prices in recent years shrinking government revenues.

Cracks have appeared in LIV Golf's player roster, as five-time major winner Brooks Koepka and former Masters champion Patrick Reed have recently ditched LIV for returns to the PGA Tour.

- 'We are pioneers' -

If the LIV Golf tour were to cease operations, it is not clear how it would affect its remaining players.

LIV star Sergio Garcia told a press conference in Mexico City that players "haven't heard anything" since the start of the year, when wealth fund's leader Yasir al-Rumayyan told golfers "that he's behind us, that they have a long-term project."

In his letter, O'Neil did not directly dispute the rumors of a Saudi withdrawal, but said that "the life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure."

"We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo," wrote the executive.

"We are pioneers, and while the road isn't always smooth, the destination is worth every mile," he added.

N.Shalabi--SF-PST