LIV Golf aided Saudi crown prince's image makeover. Now it's expendable | Opinion

Well, would you look at that. The folks who created a sports empire to distract from their fondness for murder and human rights abuses are turning out to be untrustworthy. LIV Golf , Project B , women’s tennis — everyone is expendable once they’ve served their purposes for Saudi Arabia’s sportswashing campaign.

The Saudis don’t give a damn if they leave athletes scrambling and confused because they already got their money’s worth from dupes like Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. Rich dupes. But dupes, nonetheless.

LIV Golf is still going — for now . But Rahm, Sergio Garcia, DeChambeau and everyone else who torched their reputations in exchange for boatloads of cash have to wonder what “full throttle” really means when their sugar daddy is shifting its priorities. “The 2026-2030 strategy marks a natural evolution as PIF ( Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund ) moves from a period of rapid growth and acceleration to a new phase of sustained value creation, with a strengthened focus on maximizing impact, raising the efficiency of investments, and applying the highest standards of governance, transparency and institutional excellence,” the PIF said in an April 15 release .

Translation: We no longer need the Cleeks, Crushers and Range Goats because the world has moved on. Saudi Arabia's investment pivot is just disruption of deceit Saudi Arabia also appears uninterested in re-upping as host of the WTA Finals beyond this year while Project B seems more of a theory than an actual women's basketball league. The PIF already sold Al Hilal , one of the most prominent teams in Saudi Arabia’s domestic soccer league.