April 29 (Reuters) - LIV Golf plans to tell players and staff by Thursday that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will stop funding the circuit after this season, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
LIV did not immediately respond when asked by Reuters for comment.
Launched in 2022 and backed by the PIF, LIV disrupted professional golf by signing several top players to lucrative contracts, including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Phil
Mickelson.
The WSJ report comes two weeks after sources close to the matter told Reuters that LIV's 2026 season would proceed as scheduled with the full backing of the PIF, pushing back against reports that the circuit was facing a funding crisis.
LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil told players in an email seen by Reuters that the season would continue "exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle."
LIV has sought to grow golf globally but has drawn criticism from human rights groups, who say Saudi Arabia is using sport to improve its reputation despite criticism of its human rights record.
The Saudi government denies accusations of human rights abuses.
The PGA Tour, PIF and Europe-based DP World Tour announced a framework agreement in June 2023 to combine their commercial operations, but a definitive deal has yet to be completed.
According to the WSJ, the PGA Tour is not prepared to automatically welcome back LIV players, with any returns likely to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Koepka and former Masters champion Patrick Reed have already left LIV in recent months.
(Reporting by Mihika Sharma in Bengaluru and Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Chris Reese and Toby Davis)
