LIV Golf Set To Be Wound Down In Bankruptcy Court After $300M Rescue Deal Collapses

LIV Golf is set to be wound down in bankruptcy court after private credit firm BC Partners abruptly pulled out of a $300 million deal to save the league.

Lee Westwood, the 53-year-old former world number one, has openly described himself as "unemployed" as the breakaway circuit unravels.

BC Partners, the credit firm that was planning to save LIV, has decided to pull out of a $300m deal, meaning the league is set to be wound down in bankruptcy court.

The decision leaves dozens of players who abandoned the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in career limbo.

Westwood joined LIV Golf when the Saudi-backed tour launched four years ago.

He is not alone.

Adrian Meronk, the 2023 DP World Tour Player of the Year, has already quit the league after banking north of $15 million in prize money across three seasons.

Meronk told Today's Golfer that the final season was "a bit strange" after news broke that the Saudis were backing out.

"Everyone didn't know what to expect," Meronk said.

"It was a lot of unknowns. The energy was a little bit strange."

Meronk slipped outside the top 500 in the world rankings and has not played a single major championship since 2024.

He won the Dunhill Links Championship last month, securing his DP World Tour playing rights just in time.

Other defectors face a harder road back.

Graeme McDowell, the Northern Irish major winner, is among those who cashed in on what the Belfast Telegraph called "the Saudi Arabia gravy train."

LIV Golf was launched in 2022 with massive financial backing from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Estimates of total Saudi investment in the league run to nearly $4 billion, including signing bonuses, prize purses, and operating costs.

Despite the money, the league struggled to attract viewers, secure broadcast deals, and gain Official World Golf Ranking points.

Players who joined faced bans from PGA Tour events and saw their world rankings plummet.

The proposed merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf's Saudi backers, announced in June 2023, has stalled repeatedly.

BC Partners stepping in was seen as the last realistic chance to keep LIV afloat.

With that deal dead, the league has no clear path forward.

Bankruptcy court proceedings would likely involve selling off assets, settling debts, and determining what happens to player contracts.

Those contracts, reportedly worth tens of millions for top names, may become worthless paper.

Westwood's admission of being "unemployed" is a stark contrast to the promises made when LIV launched.

Recruiting videos and press releases sold the league as a revolution in golf, offering freedom from the traditional tour grind.

"It was the best place to play golf, to be honest," Meronk said of the first two years.

"But the last season was a bit strange."

For players who left established careers, the fallback options are limited.

Some, like Meronk, can return to the DP World Tour if they regain their status through performance.