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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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According to multiple reports this week, LIV Golf’s primary financial engine, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), plans to stop funding the league after the 2026 season, putting its long-term viability in serious doubt.
The league, which has already burned through billions to lure elite talent, is now scrambling for investors while facing shrinking schedules, postponed events, and growing uncertainty among players.
Amid the turmoil, multiple LIV players and their agents have reportedly reached out to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour about potential returns.
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However, it won’t be simple. The PGA Tour’s previous “Returning Member Program” was limited and may not be renewed, meaning most players could be forced to requalify through Q-School or other tours.
Players tied to lawsuits or without prior PGA status may face even steeper hurdles.
That’s where Stephen A. Smith stepped in on Thursday, April 30, pushing back hard against the idea of effectively punishing players for leaving in the first place.
"They should not be punishing anybody. It was their negligence. It was their abuse. It was their taking golfers for granted that forced the existence of LIV to begin with. The players didn't want to leave the PGA. They were forced to because they were looking for better opportunities because of the manner in which they were treated," Smith said.
"All they wanted was to be treated better based on the revenue that they were generating for the PGA and the PGA stuck their nose up like the arrogant people that they were and they mistreated these guys. So now that this is going away, supposedly, and these players from LIV are looking to come back, I don't want to hear anything about punishment," Smith added.
"They should be embraced. They should be accepted, and the PGA should learn from this and treat them more fairly than they did in the past, which forced LIV's existence to begin with."
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LIV Golf officially launched in 2022 as a Saudi-backed rival designed to disrupt the PGA Tour, offering guaranteed contracts, massive signing bonuses, and a shorter, team-based format.
It emerged largely out of player frustration with the Tour’s structure, particularly limited earning security, strict scheduling, and control over where players could compete.
“They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive tactics because we, the players, had no recourse,” golf legend Phil Mickelson said in early 2022 before joining LIV. “The Saudi money has finally given us that leverage.”
The PGA Tour responded aggressively, suspending defectors, denying event releases, and engaging in legal battles, drawing a hard line between the two sides.
Players ultimately left for financial security and flexibility, with LIV offering astronomical money and a different lifestyle balance, while others viewed it as a chance to reshape the sport’s power structure.
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At the heart of it, the PGA Tour is trying to prove a point. If you leave the room, you do not get to stroll back in like nothing happened.
That instinct is understandable. Institutions want loyalty, and they want the ability to protect their brand without looking soft the second the money gets awkward.
But the counterargument is stronger than that.
LIV didn't evolve out of nothing. It exposed real dissatisfaction, and the PGA Tour was forced to improve because players finally had an alternative.
That means a harsh return policy can start to look less like principle and more like resentment.
If the Tour truly believes it is the best stage in golf, it should not need to punish players to prove it.
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