If Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), was looking for a reason to pull its money out of the LIV Golf tour, he reportedly found it in Sergio Garcia’s outburst at the Masters in April.
That’s the claim in Friday’s edition of The Financial Times.
“In April, as LIV golfers floundered at the Masters, golf’s most prestigious tournament, Spanish star Sergio Garcia damaged the Augusta National course during a fit of rage in the final round,” read the Times. “People familiar with the matter say Rumayyan’s embarrassment at the sequence of events helped lead to his decision to pull the plug on PIF’s financing of the rival tour, as the fund focuses more on its huge domestic commitments in the kingdom.”
Now, one’s first thought is likely that many factors led the PIF to pull its funding from LIV, which has consistently lost money amid poor ratings and bad PR since its brief moment in the sun. However, when you look at the timing of everything, it kinda checks out.
A whole series of events from Sergio Garcia earlier on Sunday at the Masters 😳
😬 Slams his driver in frustration
😬 Breaks his driver against a cooler
😅 Carries Jon Rahm’s bag while Rahm’s caddie tends to a bunker pic.twitter.com/he09pvWuv8— ESPN (@espn) April 12, 2026
Garcia’s meltdown, which included him slamming his driver in frustration, tearing out chunks of grass, and breaking it against a cooler, took place on Sunday, April 12, the final day of the 2026 Masters.
Rumayyan, whose desire to become a member of Augusta National has been well documented, was watching and was presumably not pleased with the behavior.
By that Wednesday, reports emerged that LIV was holding an “emergency meeting” amid rumors that PIF was turning off the money tap and that the league was shutting down. The Financial Times later reported that PIF is “on the verge of cutting its support for LIV Golf.” While LIV was in deep denial mode the next day and the league said it would finish the season, the die was cast, and PIF’s move to stop funding the golf league was official two weeks later.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.