LIV Golf to liquidate after financing rescue collapses
LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed circuit that disrupted professional golf after launching in June 2022, will liquidate following the collapse of a final financing plan. The league said it would pursue an orderly wind-down while remaining open to alternatives that could maximise its value. A proposed $300m financing package from BC Partners would have supported tournaments in 2027, but it was abandoned after several prominent players declined to commit.
The circuit’s future had already deteriorated after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew financial support beyond the completed 2026 season, having invested more than $5bn. Former world No 1 Jon Rahm and other leading players left after LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy protection in September. LIV had attracted stars including Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson with lucrative contracts and guaranteed payments, prompting the PGA Tour to suspend defectors and triggering years of legal conflict.
Critics accused LIV of helping Saudi Arabia improve its international image and divert attention from its human rights record. A 2023 framework to create a unified commercial entity with the PGA Tour ultimately stalled, despite the Saudi fund offering $1.5bn on the condition that LIV remain intact. Its liquidation marks the collapse of one of the most ambitious and controversial challenges to golf’s established order.
Continue in the app — vote & join in ➔