With reports swirling that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund may withdraw support after 2026, Ian Poulter has revealed LIV Golf’s leadership is scrambling to secure private equity funding to keep the league alive.

"I mean, look, they've got their challenges, and they're working very hard. I think Scott and the whole team have been very active over the last month; you guys would have seen it, trying to raise private equity to keep this thing moving forward," Poulter said ahead of his senior debut at the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club.

Poulter's comments arrive at a time when there are widespread reports that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) plans to pull its primary support after the 2026 season.

The 50-year-old Englishman added in the same press-conference posted by United States Golf Association (USGA) on YouTube: "They're trying really hard. They've got a good plan for '27, and they feel pretty confident to have some support there. We'll see how that trends."

Before this recent comment, Poulter has repeatedly pointed to successful outside investment in sports as the model LIV should chase.

He's cited Rory McIlroy's stake in the Alpine Formula 1 team, a club valued at roughly $900 million in 2023 that is now believed to be worth close to $3 billion.

"That is the opportunity that now lies ahead for Scott, for us, to build a 2.0 version of LIV," Poulter said.

After five seasons and $5B in PIF investment, Poulter points to concrete wins: profitable teams, expanded fan base, and events in Australia and South Africa.

"Look what happened in Australia. Look what happened in South Africa," Poulter said back then.

"We've been able to have 10 teams that are actually profitable this year. And look at the fan base that we've grown..... There's so many positives in a five-year window of what we've been able to achieve. It's remarkable. From nothing and all headwinds."

As of July 2026, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has not announced new sponsors or funding.

While he has claimed LIV brought in close to half a billion dollars in sponsorship revenue, reports suggest most of it came from Saudi-linked brands like Aramco and Riyadh Air rather than global commercial partners.

Ian Poulter, however, isn't worried about his own future

Poulter's LIV contract is believed to run out at the end of this year. So, whether he stays or not likely depends on whether a LIV 2.0 version even exists.

Despite that, the 50-year-old Englishman was not bothered when asked about his golf future.

"I'm not giving you a sob story," he said back in May. "Of course, I'm not. I don't have to do anything. I've got enough money to never play golf again. I could put my clubs down tomorrow and sustain the lifestyle that I have forever. My family is fine, my children are fine."

Poulter's own path forward hinges on LIV's survival—but he's already planning his next move.

Currently suspended by the PGA Tour after joining LIV in 2022, he said he's prepared to sit out a year — the same route Henrik Stenson and Pat Perez have taken — before attempting to join the PGA Tour Champions.

And on the DP World Tour, he's already cleared the path. Poulter settled the fines after resigning their memberships in 2023.

"I'm glad they have changed their position from five years ago and just have players play," the 12x DP World Tour winner added. "I think things would have been extremely different to what golf looks like now."

Read more at Club Golf!

Read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Koushik Biswas