The Saudi Public Investment Fund’s decision to pull its support for LIV Golf after the 2026 season comes as little surprise to those who’ve been watching closely. Four years after launching the controversial league—amid heavy criticism over what many saw as an attempt to sportswash the actions of a murderous regime—the money is drying up, and the players who rushed to join are left holding the bag.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF chairman, has stepped down from his role as LIV’s board chairman, according to Sports Business Journal. Now, the league is scrambling to find new investors to keep the lights on. Good luck with that. Replacing the billions it took to launch and sustain a league that’s reportedly lost more than $5 billion since its debut won’t be easy. And don’t expect the same players who abandoned the PGA Tour to stick around when the well runs dry.

It feels like only a matter of time before those players come crawling back, begging for a second chance. Some, like Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, might find a way back in. Others, like Bryson DeChambeau—who wears the PIF mark more prominently—could face a tougher road, according to the Wall Street Journal. As PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp put it, “There were rules, and they were broken. With rules comes accountability.” Truer words were never spoken.

At the end of the day, it was never really about the golf—not for the players, and not for their former investors. The Saudis used LIV as a tool, and now that it’s no longer useful, they’re moving on. The players, blinded by the money or too compromised to care, are left to face the consequences. It’s a harsh lesson, but one that was written on the wall from the very beginning.