LIV Golf to close operations after failing to secure new investors

LIV Golf spent more than $5 billion before losing its primary financial backer, a figure that underscores the scale of the venture that has now ended.

Attorney Matthew Williams of Gibson Dunn told a bankruptcy court in Trenton, New Jersey, on Thursday that the tour is ceasing operations. Williams stated that the debtors are not proceeding with the previously announced LIV 2.0 plan. Instead, the organization is moving to a value-maximizing wind-down of its business.

The tour filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 8. At that time, it believed it had secured a lifeline from BC Partners Credit. That firm had pledged a $300 million investment to pivot the tour toward a more sustainable financial model. BC Partners issued a statement saying it was disappointed that mutually acceptable terms could not be reached among the various stakeholders.

Key players rejected the restructuring proposal. Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia were not interested in the new terms, according to the court filing. Rahm has already agreed to forfeit all claims against LIV, which were estimated to be worth roughly $100 million, in order to exit his contract. He has returned to playing on the European tour and hopes to find a path back to the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour currently imposes a one-year ban on players dating from their last LIV appearance.

The loss of funding occurred in April, two weeks after the Masters and two months after the start of the Iran war. The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, known as PIF, changed its investment strategy. It announced it would no longer pay for LIV Golf after the 2026 season.

In the months between the PIF and LIV Golf filing for bankruptcy, the tour paid $15.6 million to retain seven executives. CEO Scott O'Neil received $6.375 million of that total. Legal experts note these payments are not unusual for a company trying to emerge from bankruptcy. However, the question remains whether those payments can be voided now that the company is liquidating rather than moving forward.

The tour faced additional setbacks before and after the bankruptcy filing. The Asian Tour, which received financial support from LIV for an International Series, decided in July to renew an alliance with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour in Europe. European tour CEO Guy Kinnings said last month that anyone signing up for LIV 2.0 would not need to apply for membership on the European tour. This decision put European players at risk of missing out on the Ryder Cup. Kinnings told The Scotsman newspaper that the tour had to protect itself against an entity that spent over $7 billion with the aim of destroying the DP World Tour.

LIV Golf launched in June 2022 under the leadership of Greg Norman. Norman had previously tried to start a world tour in 1994 but was blocked by Arnold Palmer and the PGA Tour. The new tour offered nine-figure signing bonuses to lure top names away from the PGA Tour. It promoted itself as golf but louder, featuring blaring music, 54-hole shotgun starts, and prize funds of up to $25 million per event. The tour had no broadcast deal in its first year, forcing it to cover production costs internally. It secured a deal with the CW Network in 2023 and eventually signed with Fox Sports in 2025.

The season began with Brooks Koepka exiting his LIV deal with one year remaining. The PGA Tour created a path for his return, including financial penalties. Patrick Reed chose not to extend his deal and is poised to return to the PGA Tour next year based on his performance in Europe. Rahm said on Tuesday he would be willing to pay the same price as Koepka, though it was unlikely that same deal would be offered. Michael La Sasso won LIV's final event in August in Indianapolis. He failed to get through the second stage of European tour qualifying school last week.