LIV Golf: Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan set to leave amid removal of Saudi funding for breakaway league

LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is expected to resign as part of an announcement officially confirming the removal of future Saudi funds from the league, Sky Sports News understands.

It would be the first formal acknowledgement by LIV as it attempts to move forward with new leadership and without funding from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund [PIF] - which Al-Rumayyan has governed since 2015 - beyond this year.

Sky Sports News has been told by sources with knowledge of LIV Golf's business operations that it plans to release a new "strategic plan" to seek new long-term investors and is currently engaging with prospective investors.

It is understood that LIV went over their plans for the future with the 13 team captains - including major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm - in a call on Tuesday.

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Sky Sports News also understands that several players are exploring their options beyond LIV.

This follows the high-profile departures of major champions Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed at the start of the year, and the recent uncertainty over the league's future.

Sources with knowledge of LIV Golf business operations told Sky Sports News the company remains committed to a team golf model and a global tour, having seen over 200,000 fans attend events in Australia and South Africa this year.

However, the removal of PIF funding casts doubt on the league's future and ability to retain the services of stars like DeChambeau and Rahm, although the former is said to be negotiating a new contract with the franchise.

LIV Golf offers $30m (£22.25m) prize money at each of its events and has already spent $5bn (£3.71bn) since its creation in 2022 - a figure that will reach $6bn by the end of this year, according to Money in Sport - making a course to financial solvency challenging without serious new investment.

Players have been aware Saudi funding would not be available after this season. DeChambeau said in an interview with the Flushing It social media site that "as long as LIV is here, I would figure out a way for it to make sense."

"There's a lot of moving parts like in any business," DeChambeau said. "It's a startup, right? And so there's going to be times where we're squeezed and punched. This is one of those moments. But I'm going to do everything in my power to make it work and I really see the value in franchise golf."

LIV Golf announced the postponement of its June 25-28 event in Louisiana earlier this week, with their next event scheduled for May 7-10 in northern Virginia. CEO Scott O'Neil, having guaranteed Saudi funds throughout the 2026 season, said in a memo to staff two weeks ago the season would be uninterrupted and "full throttle."

Koepka, one of the league's original coups, has already returned to the PGA Tour after he was granted a path back with stipulations that included no access to equity grants for five years, a $5m charity donation and no bonus money this year.

The tour offered the same pathway to three other LIV players who had won majors since 2022 - Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith - however none of the three golfers accepted. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp is now saying that the American circuit is thinking about establishing new pathways to reinstate LIV Golf players.

In an interview earlier this week with The Wall Street Journal, Rolapp said, "We're interested in having the best players who can help our tour. Not every player can do that."

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