Aug 5 (Reuters) - LIV Golf has secured a new lead investor in a deal expected to be agreed in September, Chief Executive Scott O'Neil said on Wednesday, providing a funding boost for the breakaway circuit as it prepares for a future without backing from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Sovereign wealth fund PIF, which has invested more than $5 billion in LIV Golf since its launch in 2022 and lured many leading players away from the PGA Tour, said in April that further investment in the circuit no longer aligned with its strategy.
"LIV Golf has an agreement in place with a lead investor, signed by the investor and approved by the board, to anchor the transaction and support the league's next era," O'Neil said in a statement.
"We're also seeing strong interest from more than a dozen additional parties to potentially serve as minority investors, creating a multi-partner model built for long-term stability and growth."
O'Neil said players would become majority equity holders in the league and that LIV Golf's schedule would be reduced to 10 events, split evenly between international venues and the United States.
LIV Golf shook up the sport, using PIF's financial backing to recruit major champions Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed among other leading players to a circuit offering lucrative prize money.
LIV Golf Adelaide set a record this year as Australia's highest-ever attended golf tournament with more than 115,000 spectators.
(Reporting by Paras J. Haji in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
