LIV Golf wasn’t the only tour at risk after the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s exit – and another big blow has now emerged…
The wider implications of Saudi Arabia’s retreat from LIV Golf are becoming clear after it emerged aspiring tour pros with crushed dreams will now be refunded thousands of dollars.
After pummelling $5 billion into LIV, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund has pulled the plug on its support of the breakaway league, with star names Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm still owed millions.
LIV has now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and it is increasingly unclear if the league’s reimagined ‘2.0’ model with fewer events and more modest prize purses will get off the ground.
But the knock-on effect of the PIF turning off the taps has not just impacted LIV, with the Asian Tour also reeling from the loss of funding. The Asian Tour had for several years been LIV’s feeder tour and offered promotion and relegation pathways for the league.
“It’s been devastating for the Asian Tour,” the circuit’s CEO Cho Minn Thant told TG. The unexpected abandonment of the International Series – a lucrative 10-event series with $2 million PIF-funded purses often frequented by LIV players – has left members with few playing opportunities this season.
Thant has pivoted to a new partnership with the PGA and DP World Tours, with co-sanctioned events that he hopes will secure the future of the creaking circuit. But in a bitter blow, Thant has now had to inform Asian Tour hopefuls that his circuit’s 2027 Qualifying School has been cancelled.
“The difficult decision was taken due to the second half of the 2026 Asian Tour schedule being materially impacted by the cessation of The International Series,” a statement read. “This has limited playing opportunities for our membership, notably for graduates from the Qualifying School and last year’s Asian Development Tour (ADT).
“It is a determination not taken lightly given the Qualifying School is such a critical part of our player pathways and the Tour apologises for any inconvenience caused.”
Players who had signed up to play Q School – with entry fees and other costs running well into the thousands ahead of a December finale in Thailand – have been told they will be refunded, and it seems status of current members will continue into next season instead.
In his interview with TG, Thant admitted the Asian Tour were in talks to renegotiate a five-year extension as LIV’s feeder circuit, but the circuit is now having to undergo a huge rebuild. He was asked how his membership responded to the news of PIF’s departure.
“Obviously worried when the Asian Tour lost the PIF and LIV as a sponsor,” he said. “I stood up in front of the entire membership at an AGM and let them know what the situation is, what we’ve done with the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, how we’re moving forward to fill the gaps next year and how we’re rebuilding in 2027, looking to 2028 as a full recovery. I think they understand.
“Obviously they’re frustrated, but they understand that the situation is very extraordinary this year.”