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Saudi Arabia has confirmed to players and staff that its funding for LIV Golf will finish at the end of the season. This leaves the future of the breakaway tournament in doubt. The Kingdom has poured £3.7bn into LIV Golf since 2021, luring some of the sport’s biggest names from the PGA Tour with huge contracts and prize pots. But in the wake of war in Iran it is tightening its belt and reevaluating its sports investments, which have been part of a soft power push encompassing football, boxing and Formula One. Liv Golf has postponed a competition that was due to take place in New Orleans in June and appointed a new board, whose main task is finding an alternative source of cash. Even if they succeed, the tour will almost certainly be downsized and its star players may need to have some awkward conversations with the PGA.
Further reading: The UAE’s withdrawal from Opec shows widening rifts in the Gulf
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