The Saudi Golf Doubts Are Hinting at More to Come

Last week the golfing world got a billion-dollar shock when it emerged that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund might be thinking about cutting its losses in LIV, the upstart PGA Tour challenger. It wasn’t the only locally backed sport to face a new reality in a Middle East dealing with the effects of the US-Israeli war with Iran. PIF is also selling a majority stake in Riyadh’s Al Hilal Football Club to billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, while the kingdom is reportedly no longer planning to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup.

This retrenchment may be more nip-and-tuck than radical surgery in the overall scheme of things, given Gulf sovereign wealth funds have deployed a whopping $28 billion of publicly disclosed investment this year, according to Global SWF research. Yet it could be a taste of more to come as the war’s economic impact, coupled with the need to reinvest in defense and infrastructure, brings attention back to domestic needs.