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The chief executive of Saudi-backed LIV Golf said it will take another five to 10 years for it to become profitable, as the defections of star players cast a shadow over the start of the lavishly funded golf tournament’s fifth season.
LIV has received about $5bn of funding, principally from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, since 2021, when it was formed with the ambition of disrupting the dominant US and European golf tours. But it has also racked up huge losses: LIV’s UK entity alone has reported more than $1bn of cumulative losses between 2022 and 2024.
Scott O’Neil, the US sports and entertainment executive who became LIV Golf chief a year ago, said he faced the same pressure as any other corporate leader to turn a profit.
“This is run like a business, with serious targets, KPIs . . . and a ton of pressure,” said O’Neil, adding that the timeframe to profitability was “less than 10 and greater than five” years.
“I don’t know any business worth its weight in salt that hasn’t had to invest in the early years to realise what’s coming down the road,” he told the FT in an interview from Riyadh, where the new LIV Golf season tees off on Wednesday.
O’Neil confirmed that part of his plan to generate a return on the Saudis’ investment was to sell stakes in the tour’s 13 teams. The LIV chief said Citi had been appointed to find buyers and that “formal conversations” were under way. The aim is to seal deals that value the teams at around $1bn.
These efforts come on top of new commercial deals worth a total of $500mn, including with HSBC and Rolex, signed since O’Neil’s arrival.
The departure of two of LIV’s stars, US golfers Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka, has dominated media coverage ahead of the new season. Both players have negotiated to rejoin the US PGA Tour.
LIV pointed to the young talent it had hired to replace those leaving, such as 21-year-old US golfer Michael La Sasso, while adding it was never opposed to players switching between tours.
“I wish them well [but] I’m more focused on looking through the windshield and not the rear-view mirror,” said O’Neil.
LIV’s launch in 2021 plunged golf into a civil war. The Saudi-backed tour succeeded in luring some of the world’s best golfers, including Bryson DeChambeau and Spaniard Jon Rahm, by offering contracts reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The US PGA Tour and its European equivalent in effect banned those who signed up to LIV from playing in their events — but the PGA Tour has now relaxed its rules against players returning.
A great deal of attention has focused on DeChambeau, one of the highest-profile golfers in the world, who is a free agent at the end of the season and is keeping his options open.
LIV has this season ditched the 54-hole format that inspired its name — LIV is 54 expressed in Roman numerals — for the standard 72 holes. This change contributed to the decision announced on Tuesday that meant the top ten players at LIV events would be awarded world ranking points, making it easier for them to qualify for golf’s major tournaments.
LIV and the PGA Tour appeared to have reached a deal and made plans to merge in 2023 but ultimately failed to reach an agreement, even as US President Donald Trump, an enthusiastic golfer, tried to mediate.
Despite winning the rights to host the Fifa World Cup in 2034, signs are emerging that Saudi Arabia is reining in its heavy spending on sports.
After bankrolling a $957mn spending spree on new players by Saudi Pro League football clubs in 2023, the league’s focus has now shifted towards financial sustainability. Meanwhile, the planned Asian Winter Games, scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in 2029, have been postponed indefinitely.
O’Neil brushed off any concerns over the kingdom’s commitment to LIV.
“There’s a commitment to the long term of this business, that’s beyond a shadow of a doubt,” he said.
Additional reporting by Sujeet Indap in New York