Sergio Garcia’s outburst at the Masters had an unexpected consequence for LIV Golf, according to a new report examining what followed the incident.
But the reported fallout went well beyond Garcia himself, with the incident ultimately playing a surprising role in LIV Golf’s future.
People familiar with the matter told a Financial Times report published Friday that Yasir al-Rumayyan’s embarrassment over the sequence at Augusta National helped lead to his decision to pull Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund financing from the upstart tour. LIV declined to comment to the FT, according to the report.
Sergio Garcia’s Masters Outburst Timeline
Garcia entered the final round of the 2026 Masters already 16 shots behind co-leaders Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young, according to Golf Digest reporter Joel Beall’s account. He bogeyed the first hole, then sprayed his drive right on the par-5 second.
While the ball was still in flight, Garcia angrily slammed his driver into the tee box turf twice, tearing chunks out of the teeing ground. He then walked to a nearby cooler and swung the club at it, snapping the head off the shaft.
Two holes later, Masters competition committee chairman Geoff Yang delivered Garcia a code-of-conduct warning, the tournament’s first under a newly instituted policy. Garcia closed with a 75 and finished the week at 8-over.
“Just obviously not super proud of it, but sometimes it happens,” Garcia said afterward, as quoted by Golf Digest. He declined to detail his exchange with Yang.
The blowup fit a pattern. Garcia was disqualified from the 2019 Saudi International after purposely damaging greens, and he snapped a driver shaft at the 2025 Open Championship, according to Golf Digest. He apologized on social media two days later, writing that his actions had no place in the sport.
LIV Golf’s Funding Collapse and What Comes Next
Garcia joined LIV Golf in 2022 as one of its earliest marquee signings, resigning his PGA Tour membership as stars chased guaranteed contracts, according to LIV Golf’s official information. He has captained the Fireballs GC team and signed a multiyear extension to remain with the league.
None of that shielded LIV from the financial reckoning now underway. Al-Rumayyan has stepped back from LIV’s board, and PIF will fund the circuit only through the end of 2026, with total Saudi investment estimated near $5 billion, according to The Athletic‘s reporting on PIF. LIV’s underwhelming showing at the year’s majors, not Garcia’s tantrum alone, factored into the retreat.
LIV is now weighing a pre-packaged bankruptcy filing that would strip out PIF’s involvement and produce a leaner “LIV 2.0.” Tour insiders told the Financial Times that had PGA Tour executives anticipated such a quick collapse for LIV, a separate $1.5 billion private equity infusion the tour accepted in 2024 might never have been necessary.
That deal pushed the PGA Tour toward a two-tier restructuring set for 2028, splitting fields into a top-money championship series and a developmental circuit. Chief executive Brian Rolapp has framed the changes as evolution, not concession.
Garcia, 46, remains active on LIV as the Fireballs captain, though his major relevance has faded since his lone win at the 2017 Masters. He has periodically explored a path back to the DP World Tour, a route that could matter more as LIV’s Saudi backing disappears.
No LIV or PIF official has confirmed exactly how much Garcia’s outburst factored into the funding decision. But the sequence, a meltdown at Augusta followed by an exit from Riyadh, now defines the tour’s next chapter.
Sergio Garcia Masters Outburst Had Surprising Result for LIV Golf: Report