LIV Golf ‘getting ready for chapter’ as remaining event might be months away
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is set to withdraw its financial support for the breakaway LIV Golf league after the 2026 season, and the league is now reportedly preparing for bankruptcy
LIV Golf started playing its first tournaments in June 2022(Image: Getty)
LIV Golf has seemingly begun preparations for a potential bankruptcy filing in the United States as the rebel circuit faces the possibility of total closure when its current season ends in late August.
This development provides the most definitive insight yet into the league’s situation following last month’s announcement that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would cease its financial support after the 2026 season.
The PIF is estimated to have poured more than $5 billion into LIV Golf since the tour’s inception in 2022, funding the hefty player contracts and global tournament schedule that positioned the league as a true rival to the PGA Tour’s supremacy. Meanwhile, Jon Rahm stands to lose nearly $1 million of the PGA Championship money he earned after finishing T2.
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With no alternative source of funding on the horizon, the league is now bracing itself for the very real possibility of closure.
According to Bloomberg News’ report, LIV management and advisers are concurrently pursuing two strategies: an active search for new investors and a fallback contingency plan that includes Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings should that fundraising effort fail, reports the Express US.
Sources described bankruptcy as a “last resort” but acknowledged that groundwork is already underway. The circuit is said to be considering relocating its headquarters to the United States, particularly to take advantage of the nation’s bankruptcy legislation, having previously been based in offices across London and Riyadh.
LIV lured Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed from the PGA Tour with eye-watering deals that ensured payment irrespective of their on-course results.
If the circuit collapses, those agreements would be rendered null and void, and while a PGA Tour comeback might be feasible for major champions through restricted exemptions, it remains far from certain or simple for all these golfers.
LIV’s chief executive Scott O’Neil adopted a more optimistic stance when he spoke to journalists at LIV Virginia earlier this month – his first public outing since the PIF’s pullout was revealed. He detailed the categories of backers who had already made contact. “It was a split between private equity, family office and then your traditional high net worth – the guys who invest in sports and sports teams. So that’s been really positive,” he said.
However, he also admitted that the process was far from complete. “It’s still early. We haven’t gotten to market yet. We haven’t finalized our business plan. We’re still picking and prodding. We have a good sense at this point – we know where we’re going, and we’re just going to tighten the screws.”
The league has previously highlighted a 100 percent year-on-year revenue increase during the current season, while also expressing confidence that the team golf format would attract private investment. Reports earlier this week suggested that LIV was seeking up to $250 million in short-term funding, with an alternative arrangement involving $150 million in fresh capital alongside up to $100 million from team sales and a media rights deal.
None of that funding has publicly materialised. The league’s final event is the LIV Team Championships in Plymouth, Michigan on August 30.
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