Wentworth releases statement after rumours of sale to LIV Golf's Saudi Arabian backers

Wentworth has said it is "not for sale" after a DP World Tour player claimed the iconic Surrey golf club was in talks with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV .

Eddie Pepperell claimed on his Chipping Forecast podcast that the club was in talks with the PIF over the sale of the course, which hosts the BMW PGA Championship – one of the highlights of the DP World Tour schedule.

Wentworth was sold to Thai-Chinese investment firm the Reignwood Group in 2014. And the club has shut down the speculation, issuing a statement to

It read: "Wentworth Club can today confirm that these rumours are unfounded.

"Wentworth Club is not for sale. There have been numerous expressions of interest in buying Wentworth post-COVID, but Reignwood is committed to its position of long-term investment in the asset."

Wentworth added that there has "not been any direct dialogue between Reignwood and PIF, nor is the ownership group seeking investment with the club "in good financial status".

The statement continued: "There has always been global interest coming directly or through agencies with expressions of interest in purchasing the club.

"Wentworth Club is not for sale, the Reignwood Group is committed to the club’s future and is excited about the imminent launch of the reimagined and restored East Course as well as the new state-of-the-art golf academy.

"Wentworth Club is also an important asset in Reignwood’s global golf club portfolio, including Reignwood Pine Valley in Beijing and Reignwood Park in Thailand, which is currently under construction with a total investment of over $1 billion."

LIV Golf launched in 2022, funded by PIF, which invested hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire top talent from the PGA Tour including Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka. The likes of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have joined since on massive contracts.

The breakaway tour's commissioner and CEO, two-time major champion Greg Norman, revealed in May that LIV was looking to follow the PGA Tour's model of owning courses.

The PGA Tour owns numerous venues under the Tournament Players Club (TPC) branding, including TPC Sawgrass which hosts The Players – the tour's flagship event.

“Man United owns their stadium. Indian , they own their stadiums. , they own their stadiums,” Norman said.

“Think about LIV owning all its own golf courses, each team having a home venue and hosting. And now you can build out around that. It’s not just a golf course.

"You bring in education, hospitality, real estate, merchandise, management, and all these other different opportunities that the game of golf has to deliver to a community or to a region. We are going to be doing that.”

However, if LIV Golf has Wentworth in its sights, it seems the Saudi-funded league is destined for disappointment and must look elsewhere to acquire a UK base.

There will be more to follow on this breaking news story and will bring you the very latest updates, pictures and video as soon as possible.

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