PIF cuts the LIV Golf cord amid softening macroeconomic backdrop in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s GDP growth cooled in 1Q 2026 to 2.8%, marking its slowest growth in three quarters and falling from the 3.7% growth recorded in 1Q 2025. On a quarterly basis, growth shrank 1.5% compared to 4Q 2025 on the back of oil activities dropping 7.2% q-o-q.

Blame the blockade: The slower growth came as the US and Israel’s war on Iran and disrupted shipments of oil through the Strait of Hormuz led Saudi Arabia’s oil activities to contribute just 0.7 percentage points of GDP growth during the quarter. Non-oil activities “were the main contributor to GDP growth,” accounting for 1.7 percentage points of the total and growing 2.8% y-o-y.

REMEMBER- The IMF is expecting Saudi Arabia’s growth to average 3.1% in 2026, the fund said in its World Economic Outlook report last month. That figure is 1.4 percentage points lower than the Fund’s initial outlook in January. However, growth is expected to pick up pace again to 4.5% in 2027.

Against that softer macro backdrop, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is tightening its belt — and getting brownie points from Moody’s for it. The PIF’s newly-approved 2026-2030 investment strategy — which focuses more on creating value rather than pure growth — will strengthen the fund's financial resilience and support long-term economic diversification, Moody’s said in a note.

Exhibit A: PIF is officially cutting the cord from LIV Golf, with the fund set to halt its financial support for the breakaway golf league at the close of the 2026 season, the Wall Street Journal reports. The decision, which came after PIF sank USD 5 bn into LIV since its launch in 2022, is due to the fund’s investment strategy no longer lining up with the substantial investment the golf league needs over a longer term. Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, a LIV founder, has stepped down as the league's board chair, and LIV is now pitching outside investors to fund operations from 2027 onward.