It’s on to Plan B for LIV Golf. 

The rebel golf league plans to tell players and staff Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is officially pulling its funding at the end of the season, according to The Wall Street Journal, ending weeks of speculation. 

In fact, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil had already started informing players and staff Wednesday, The Telegraph reported. 

The Saudis have reportedly spent nearly $6 billion on LIV Golf, allowing it to pull in some of the sport’s biggest names at astronomical nine-figure salaries amid accusations of the country “sportswashing” its image. 

The league must find a way to replace the massive investment, a near-impossible task even with outside financing. 

The league struggled to gain a foothold with its team play and shortened tournament format, and lost a reported $1.1 billion from 2022-24 as a merger with the rival PGA Tour never came to fruition. 

Additionally, PIF Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan stepped down from his post as LIV board chairman and LIV Golf is expected to add a new board member while seeking additional investments, Sports Business Journal reported late Wednesday night. 

Al-Rumayyan has had a large presence with LIV Golf since he helped found it alongside Greg Norman roughly five years ago, and had been a part of the group that negotiated the “framework agreement” with the PGA Tour back in 2023. 

LIV shelled out exorbitant amounts to draw in stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, who now must determine their futures. 

PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp indicated to the Wall Street Journal that a pathway for players to return to the tour won’t necessarily be easy. 

“There were rules, and they were broken,” he said before the news about LIV’s financing. “With rules comes accountability.” 

Earlier this year, Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA Tour through a one-time returning member program that came with a hefty price tag, costing him up to $90 million in charitable donations and forfeited bonuses and equity. 

However, player returns appear to be treated on a case-by-case basis. 

“I don’t necessarily have scar tissue, but there are plenty of people around our tour who do,” Rolapp said. “It has to be accounted for in some shape or form.” 

As rumors swirled regarding its financial backing, O’Neil spent the past few weeks attempting to put out fires, while other LIV-affiliated personnel attempted to admonish those reporting on the turmoil. LIV Golf broadcasters Arlo White and David Feherty used time during the LIV Golf Mexico City broadcast to take a swipe, with White saying at one point, “It must be exhausting trying to will the LIV Golf league out of existence.” 

Earlier this month, O’Neil sent an email to staffers that pushed back on reports the league’s folding was imminent. “I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O’Neil wrote at the time. 

LIV Golf suffered another black eye this month when it postponed a June event slated for New Orleans. Officially, a joint statement by LIV Golf and the state of Louisiana indicated the decision was related to concerns over the summer heat and course conditions, but local golf leaders questioned that in a story published by Sports Illustrated on Wednesday. 

“The notion that it’s in poor condition is not going by the facts at all,” J.T. Hannan, a New Orleans local involved in the city’s golf scene, told the outlet. 

Players have seemingly begun making inquiries on fallback plans; Today’s Golfer reported Tuesday that “several” players “sounded out the DP World Tour.