MIAMI, FL – In a dramatic twist in the ongoing saga between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the Ponte Vedra team has reportedly turned down a $1.5 billion investment offer from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the financial powerhouse behind LIV Golf – a decision some within LIV believe was a planned from the outset.
The rejection, confirmed by multiple sources this week, has sent shockwaves through the sport, with the PIF’s stipulation that LIV Golf remain operational as a separate entity proving a non-negotiable sticking point for the PGA Tour.
Now, speculation is rife that LIV Golf could redirect that hefty sum to poach some of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars, potentially targeting a dozen or so top-ranked names with jaw-dropping $100-250 million deals, each.
The PGA Tour’s decision to rebuff the PIF’s offer comes nearly two years after the two sides announced a framework agreement in June 2023 to merge their commercial operations.
Despite high-profile meetings — including a White House summit in February 2025 involving President Donald Trump, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan — talks have stalled.
The PGA Tour remains steadfast in its vision of a unified premier golf circuit, unwilling to coexist with LIV Golf’s team-based, 54-hole format.
“We will not compromise the essence of what makes the PGA Tour exceptional,” Monahan said last month at The Players Championship, a sentiment echoed in the Tour’s latest rejection.
Within LIV Golf, however, there’s a growing sentiment that the prolonged negotiations and eventual rejection were a calculated ploy by the PGA Tour to stifle LIV’s momentum.
Sources close to LIV’s leadership claim the stalled talks — dragging on for nearly two years — were intentionally drawn out to slow their recruitment of top-tier talent. Since the framework agreement was announced, LIV’s only high-profile signing was Jon Rahm – the 2023 Masters champion, who made the jump to the startup circuit for a reported $300 million deal in December 2023.
“We had the money and the will to sign more, but the talks kept us in limbo,” said a LIV insider. “They knew every month we waited, the harder it was to pull players.”
But with $1.5 billion now off the table for a merger, LIV Golf and the PIF could pivot to a more aggressive strategy: raiding the PGA Tour’s talent pool.
Industry insiders and analysts suggest that the rejected funds could easily bankroll a blockbuster recruitment drive.
“While names like [Scottie] Scheffler, Rory [McIlroy], JT [Justin Thomas] and [Jordan] Spieth are unlikely, LIV could allocate $1 billion and target say 15 to 20 of the PGA Tour’s best 30 players – those who regularly qualify for the Tour Championship – and still have $500 million left to play with,” noted a prominent golf commentator.
“Think about it. That kind of money could flip the sport on its head.”
While players like Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa have largely resisted LIV’s overtures in the past, the allure of nine-figure contracts, dwarfing even the most lucrative PGA Tour earnings, might test their loyalty.
LIV Golf has already lured major champions in their prime like Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau with life-altering deals, proving the PIF’s willingness to spend big. Rahm’s reported $300 million move after an historic 2023 season remains a benchmark, but $100 million-plus deals could secure a new wave of elite talent.
The financial firepower at LIV’s disposal is staggering. Reports indicate the PIF has already sunk nearly $5 billion into LIV Golf since its inception in 2022, with operating losses mounting. Yet, the fund’s deep pockets — estimated at over $700 billion — suggest that $1.5 billion is merely a drop in the bucket.
“This isn’t about profit for the PIF; it’s about influence and legacy,” said a source familiar with the negotiations.
“If they can’t merge with the PGA Tour, they’ll just buy it instead.”
PGA Tour players have mixed feelings about the escalating tensions. McIlroy, a vocal critic of LIV in the past, recently softened his stance, acknowledging the Tour’s $1.5 billion infusion from the Strategic Sports Group in 2024 as a sign of strength.
“We don’t need a deal,” he said in February, a view that may now be tested. Meanwhile, players like Koepka, already on LIV’s roster, have hinted at frustration with the league’s slow progress.
“I thought we’d be further along,” he admitted earlier this week, suggesting a talent infusion could reinvigorate LIV’s momentum.
Fans and analysts are divided on what a $1.5 billion talent raid could mean. Some see it as a death knell for the PGA Tour’s dominance, with one X post declaring, “LIV could buy half of the top-20 and still have cash to burn — the PGA’s done.”
Others argue the Tour’s brand and tradition outweigh any paycheck.
“Money talks, but legacy lasts,” countered another user.
LIV’s viewership struggles — its events often draw a fraction of PGA Tour audiences — could also limit the impact of new signings, though a new FOX TV deal and more star power might shift that narrative.
For now, the golf world watches with bated breath. Will LIV Golf unleash its $1.5 billion war chest to dismantle the PGA Tour’s roster, fueled by a belief the rejection was a deliberate stall?
Could Morikawa and Schauffele don LIV’s logo for $200 million each? As the Masters looms next week, the first major where PGA and LIV players will share the stage this year, the stakes have never been higher.
One thing is clear: the PIF’s rejection isn’t the end of this story — it’s the opening salvo in a new battle for golf’s soul.
