LIV Golf collapse imminent
· Axios
Efforts to keep the LIV Golf league alive have collapsed.
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Why it matters: LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September after its Saudi investors confirmed plans to withdraw funding after the 2026 season.
Driving the news: BC Partners — which had tentatively agreed to invest in a "LIV 2.0" league — is walking away, a source familiar with the matter confirmed Wednesday.
- The investment was always predicated on an unspecified number of players signing on — and at least 30 ultimately indicated interest in doing so, the person said. But economic terms remained a sticking point with some of their representatives.
- But the league was unable to secure enough support in time to meet the deadlines set in the bankruptcy case.
- LIV had also lost several stars in recent weeks, including Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, compromising its commercial appeal.
What's next: People involved in the case expect LIV to pivot to a liquidation.
- Spokespeople for LIV and BC Partners were not immediately available for comment.
Catch up quick: The Public Investment Fund — Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund — confirmed in April that it was withdrawing support for the league after the 2026 season.
- PIF — which ultimately plunged more than $5 billion into LIV, according to Money in Sport — decided to ditch LIV after President Trump's war in Iran scrambled geopolitics in the Middle East and jolted energy prices.
- The fund said in a statement that the "substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF's investment strategy."
Friction point: Critics of LIV and the players who joined it said the league amounted to "sportswashing" as the Saudis sought to redirect attention from allegations of human rights abuses.
- Defenders — including LIV member and former PGA superstar Phil Mickelson — said the league would help grow the game on a global scale.
What to watch: What the league's biggest star, Bryson DeChambeau, does next.