PGA Tour analyst tears into LIV amid PIF exit: “Everybody knew the Saudi’s didn’t care about golf...”

Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has delivered a striking assessment of LIV Golf’s uncertain future following this week’s news that its backers, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), are officially going to withdraw funding beyond the 2026 season. 

The shock development now leaves LIV Golf without a clear lead investor to carry the league into 2027 and beyond.

While the breakaway league remains publicly confident that the operation can continue “full throttle,” with changes already having been made to the board, there are growing concerns within the game that, without PIF’s financial backing, the writing is on the wall. 

Those fears are heightened by questions over whether LIV can retain its biggest names such as Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm in a post-Saudi investment era.

Chamblee, one of LIV Golf’s most outspoken critics, has long been sceptical about the league’s purpose and sustainability. 

Speaking on The Dan Patrick Show this week, the one-time PGA Tour winner reflected on whether LIV Golf had achieved its supposed objectives — and his verdict was unequivocal.

With LIV Golf now appearing increasingly fragile, Chamblee, 63, is among those who claim the warning signs were always visible.

“It’s no secret that LIV Golf’s funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will run out at the conclusion of the 2026 season, and unless they quickly find a new financial backer who is willing to lose billions of dollars on the league, LIV Golf appears to be on the brink of death,” said Chamblee.

Chamblee expanded on his criticism during his appearance on the show, arguing that LIV’s broader mission had backfired.

“They were trying to use golf to launder their reputation,” he said. “To sort of hide their atrocities, if you will, and I think it just further highlighted them.

“I think everybody in the golf industry knew the Saudi’s didn’t care about golf. 

“They were using golf as a vehicle to launder their atrocities, and because it came right on the heels of the murder and butchering of Jamal Khashoggi, it was really fresh in everybody’s mind, and it wasn’t hard to connect those dots.”

Watch Chamblee's comments in full here: 

Alongside Chamblee’s comments, fellow Golf Channel analyst and victorious 2014 European Ryder Cup team captain Paul McGinley also weighed in on the breaking developments. 

Reacting to Thursday’s confirmation that the PIF will officially end its funding of LIV Golf beyond this season, McGinley, 59, admitted he was not surprised, having long questioned the financial sustainability of the league.

"It was never going to pay its way and so that's why I'm not really surprised," McGinley told Off The Ball.

"What has surprised me is how long it's lasted, but then on the other side, the players win here.

"The players on LIV have won, obviously they got paid huge amount of money. The players who have remained on the Tours have earned a huge amount of extra money. But it's left the game, in my view, in a very difficult and potentially unsustainable place."

McGinley’s remarks reflect a wider sentiment among some industry voices that LIV Golf’s financial model was always dependent on continued state-backed investment. 

While the league succeeded in reshaping professional golf — forcing the PGA Tour to increase prize funds, restructure events, and improve player compensation — its long-term sustainability now appears increasingly uncertain.