Government spent R85m on LIV Golf tournament: parliament report

The government spent R85m on licence fees for the LIV Golf tournament at Steyn City in March and parliament wants detailed accounting of that expenditure.

The figure is contained in the department of sport, arts and culture’s annual budget vote, which came under fire from the portfolio committee for unscheduled spending on several “ad hoc projects”.

The golf tournament, which drew crowds exceeding 100,000, was forecast to inject more than R500m into the economy.

The department budgeted R100m for the 2026 event, with R85m being spent after securing sponsorships for R15m.

That’s a drop in the ocean compared to the $30m (nearly R500m) tournament purse, which was funded by LIV. Crushers captain Bryson DeChambeau earned some $4.75m (R78.4m) for winning the individual and team competitions.

On the final day of the LIV South Africa tournament sport minister Gayton McKenzie announced that the 2027 event would return to Steyn City from April 22 to 25 next year.

The parliamentary committee for sport, arts and culture pointed out the department had made no budget provisions for a LIV tournament in the 2027-28 or 2028-29 financial years.

Uncertainty has shrouded the future of the five-year-old league since the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia confirmed recently it was withdrawing its funding after this season, though LIV’s existing leadership believes it can be self-sustainable.

The committee said R100m had been allocated by the department for licence fees associated with the recent LIV Golf South Africa tournament, of which R15m was offset by sponsorships.

“The department incurred an expenditure of R85m. Although the R100m allocation was approved by National Treasury, the committee expresses serious concern regarding the implications of the resulting R85m funding shortfall.

“The department must submit a comprehensive close-out report containing a rigorous return on investment (ROI) analysis to justify the R85m net expenditure. This report should go beyond the high-level projections and present verified evidence of local job creation, direct expenditure within small, medium and micro enterprises and realised tourism growth.”

The committee, which also wants the department to explain the “impact and legacy” of the tournament, was critical of the ad hoc spending.

“The committee expresses serious concern about the department’s recurring practice of implementing significant initiatives that are not provided for in the Annual Performance Plan.

Furthermore, the committee notes with concern an emerging trend of circumventing parliamentary processes through the reprioritisation or shifting of funds to unplanned projects without sufficient justification

—  Sports portfolio committee

“The ad hoc implementation of projects such as the provision of wheelchairs for the national basketball team, the LIV Golf tournament, and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) initiative points to a departure from systematic and strategic planning.

“Such unplanned interventions risk undermining fiscal discipline and has resulted in the diversion of resources away from core, pre-approved mandates and long-term strategic objectives.

“Furthermore, the committee notes with concern an emerging trend of circumventing parliamentary processes through the reprioritisation or shifting of funds to unplanned projects without sufficient justification.”

The committee wants McKenzie to report back by the end of July.

Last year the department summarily slashed funding to sport federations — largely to fund VAR — before being blocked by National Treasury.

A key initiative being pushed by McKenzie is Project 350, which aims to get a record 300 Olympians and 50 Paralympians to Los Angeles 2028, but to date the planned expenditure has not been made public.