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LIV Golf calls it quits, to shutter league without financial support for 2.0 model
Confirmed
In Short: LIV Golf, the Saudi Arabia-backed professional golf league, will shut down after its financial backer BC Partners pulled funding.
LIV Golf, the controversial professional golf league backed by Saudi Arabia, announced Thursday it will shut down after its financial backer BC Partners pulled funding.
The league, which launched in 2022, had been seeking to relaunch with a new model called LIV 2.0, but failed to secure the necessary financial and player commitments.
During a bankruptcy court hearing in New Jersey, LIV Golf attorneys confirmed the company will begin winding down operations on Monday.
BC Partners, which had been planning to invest $300 million to support LIV Golf into a sixth season, decided to withdraw its financial support due to a lack of commitments from star players.
According to LIV Golf board members Gene Davis and Jon Zinman, shifting toward an orderly wind-down is the most responsible path forward given the current circumstances.
The league had been working on securing commitments from about 30 players, including major winners, but negotiations with players dragged on, leading to the decision to shut down.
LIV Golf had received more than $5 billion in backing from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia since its launch, but the PIF announced in April it would not finance the league beyond this season.
The league's lawyer, Matt Williams, said during the hearing that despite everyone's best efforts, the level of combined financial and player support necessary for a viable LIV 2.0 could not be reached within the required timeline.
Former LIV Golf stars like Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, and Tyrrell Hatton have opted to play on the DP World Tour next season instead of committing to the new LIV 2.0 model.
LIV Golf had been considering a different structure to rein in spending and make the league more financially viable, but the lack of player commitments ultimately led to the decision to shut down.
The league had been filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since September, with assets between $100 million and $500 million and liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion.
What this adds
The decision to shut down LIV Golf was not made until Thursday morning, indicating the last-minute nature of the announcement.
While LIV Golf had been working on securing commitments from about 30 players, only Bryson DeChambeau remained committed to the new model, which was set to include only 10 events with reduced prize purses.
The league had been seeking to build a sustainable future for LIV Golf, but the lack of player commitments and financial support from BC Partners ultimately led to the decision to wind down operations.
What's confirmed
- A LIV Golf attorney told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge that the league couldn't get the necessary financial commitment and player support to proceed with LIV 2.0 and that the company will wind down operations.
- LIV Golf, which launched in 2022 as a buzzed-about rival to the PGA Tour, plans to end its operations, the league announced Thursday.
- “In light of the current circumstances, we believe shifting toward an orderly wind-down is the most responsible path forward for the League at this time," LIV Golf board members Gene Davis and Jon Zinman said in a statement Thursday.
- BC Partners, a firm providing financing to middle-market companies, is abandoning its bid to relaunch LIV Golf after failing to secure sufficient player commitments, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
- DeChambeau, one of the biggest names on LIV's player roster, recently stated that the business model for the league's proposed 2.0 era "makes a lot of sense" and expressed hope that it would endure "forever". Others have been critical of LIV Golf, with DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings asserting that LIV sought to undermine the European circuit. "They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race," Rory McIlroy told reporters earlier on Wednesday ahead of the Abu Dhabi Championship.
- "The debtors were ultimately unable to bring the key parties to a fully consensual arrangement that would have supported a financially viable LIV 2.0 league," Williams said during Thursday's hearing.
- "While there was great support for the league, we are disappointed that mutually acceptable terms could not be reached among the various stakeholders. We commend LIV Golf's management for their tireless efforts and thank the players who supported the future of LIV and engaged constructively throughout. We wish them every success as they continue their careers."
- "BC Partners Credit supported a transaction that aligned the interests of players and investors, offering a credible path toward building a sustainable future for LIV Golf," a BC Partners spokesperson said in a statement Thursday.
- "Every constituency made meaningful efforts to find common ground, but ultimately, despite everyone's best efforts, we just couldn't get to the level of combined financial and player support necessary for a viable LIV 2.0 within the required timeline."
What's still developing
- While approximately 15 players had expressed interest in "LIV Golf 2.0," BC Partners decided to pull the funding it had originally committed in August, believing there are not enough golfers -- nor enough notable names -- attached to the project to keep the league viable, according to The Athletic and the Financial Times.
- A source added that LIV Golf met a critical mass of players who had pledged to compete in the league next season -- about 30 were committed and another 10 still were considering it -- but BC Partners pulled the plug when negotiations with those golfers dragged on.
- LIV Golf, the breakaway golf tour backed by Saudi royalty and some of the biggest names in the game, said Thursday it planned to wind down — a stunning conclusion to an effort that had received billions of dollars in backing.
- LIV Golf had been forced to apply for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the 2026 season, effectively cancelling playing contracts, with three-time champion Jon Rahm among the initial high-profile departures.
- Alex has been in the golf industry since 2007 and has helped shape a number of publications in that time.
- Ahead of what could be a significant hearting in LIV's bankruptcy proceedings in the US on Friday, multiple outlets are reporting that BC Partners had opted to withdraw its proposed financial help due to a lack of commitments from star players.
- Of the big stars who signed nine-figure contracts to join LIV, only Bryson DeChambeau remained invested in the new model, which was set to include only 10 events and reduced prize purses from the $20m at each event under LIV's original model.
- NEW YORK – September 8, 2026 – LIV Golf Incorporated and its affiliates (collectively, “LIV Golf” or the “Company”) today announced that it has entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (“RSA”) with BC Partners Advisors L.P., the credit business of BC Partners (“BC Partners Credit”), which contemplates a proposed recapitalization transaction (the “Transaction”).
- Consistent with the agreed case milestones, LIV Golf intends to emerge from chapter 11 and begin its new era in early 2027.
- While the big news today was that superstar Jon Rahm’s lawyer said he will not be joining LIV 2.0, Polish golf commentator Jacek Person reported on X that Adrian Meronk also has no intention of joining the new iteration of LIV.
- BBC Sport understands there is no obligation on players to sign on to LIV 2.0, regardless of whether they had previously signed multi-year contracts with LIV Golf.
- That enormous financial commitment helped the breakaway circuit attract a host of major champions, with players offered huge contracts, guaranteed payments and substantial prize funds.