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Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which bankrolls the LIV Golf League, is set to cut back its spending on international investments.

In a significant development, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has decided to refocus its future spending on Saudi’s domestic economy rather than its overseas products.

As reported by the Financial Times, PIF governor Yasir al-Rumayyan – also the chairman of LIV Golf and Newcastle United – has confirmed that the proportion of its treasure chest invested globally will reduce from 30 per cent by around a third.

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“Now our target is to bring it down to a range between 18 to 20 per cent,” Al-Rumayyan told a Future Investment Initiative Conference in Riyadh. “We’re more focused on the domestic economy and we’ve been achieving and doing so many big things.”

The PIF wants to increase its total asset value from $930billion to $2trillion by 2030, but aims to reach that goal by targeting domestic growth instead.

Golf fans will now eagerly observe how this impacts LIV, the lucrative breakaway league first launched in 2022 that offers $25million purses for its limited-field events.

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LIV has acquired several big name signings during a disruptive period in men’s professional golf, including Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. Major champions have been prized from traditional tours with guaranteed contracts and equity in team franchises.

The team franchises are central to LIV’s business model and are seen as key to the PIF securing a return on their mammoth outlay by selling these assets to owners. But while these start-up teams have secured various sponsorship deals, not one has yet been sold to a prospective buyer.

LIV continue to be linked with more big-name signings from the PGA Tour during its off season, but it is unclear after this shift in focus if the PIF will clear the same funds that were made available for the prolific signings of Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton before this year’s campaign.

The fledgling league continues to operate independently from the rival PGA Tour and DP World Tours at a time when the elite game is at a crossroads. LIV bosses are continuing to forge a new 14-event schedule for 2025 as prolonged talks over a deal between their PIF backers and the PGA Tour continue in the background.

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Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.

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