LIV Golf to liquidate after rescue deal collapses

LIV Golf to liquidate after new backers pull out of deal to rescue league.

LIV Golf has announced it will wind down its operations after a rescue financing deal with BC Partners Credit fell through.

The league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2026.

It had hoped to secure up to $300 million from BC Partners Credit to fund a restructured LIV 2.0 league for the 2027 season.

That deal is now dead.

A LIV Golf attorney told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge on Thursday, November 5, 2026, that the league could not get the necessary financial commitment and player support to proceed.

“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,” attorney Matthew Williams said in court.

The organization will begin winding down its operations.

It is expected to file a new Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan on Monday, November 9, 2026.

LIV Golf said in a press release that it intends to “transition to an orderly wind-down of its operations.”

The statement was signed by Gene Davis and Jon Zinman of LIV Golf’s board special committee.

“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,” they said.

Throughout the wind-down process, LIV Golf said it would remain open to any offers from third parties that could extract more value from its assets.

But the league acknowledged that no such offer is currently on the table.

THE RESCUE DEAL THAT COLLAPSED

BC Partners Credit had reached a tentative agreement to provide up to $300 million in financing.

That agreement was part of a Restructuring Support Agreement, or RSA, that LIV Golf sought to implement through its Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

“Despite extensive discussions, the relevant parties were ultimately unable to reach a consensual resolution of certain outstanding terms of the transaction contemplated by the RSA,” LIV Golf said in its statement.

“As a result, the RSA has been terminated, and the transaction is not expected to move forward at this time.”

The Financial Times reported that BC Partners Credit pulled out because of an exodus of star players from the league.

Approximately 30 players had initially committed to LIV Golf’s proposed new vision, according to the Financial Times.

But that number proved insufficient to secure the financing.

THE PLAYER EXODUS

LIV Golf lost several of its biggest names before the rescue deal collapsed.

Jon Rahm, the former world number one, announced his departure after LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

Sergio Garcia and Tyrrell Hatton also walked away from the league.

Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka had already left after their contracts expired.

Other notable departures included Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood, and other veterans who had signed lucrative contracts in the league’s early days.

The loss of so many top players made it impossible for LIV Golf to convince investors that the league had a viable future.

THE SAUDI FUNDING PULLOUT

LIV Golf’s financial troubles began in earnest in April 2026.

That month, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, or PIF, which had bankrolled the league since its launch, announced that LIV Golf no longer fit its investment strategy.

The fund had poured more than $5 billion into LIV Golf since the league launched in June 2022.

It said it would not provide funding beyond the now-completed 2026 season.

Without the Saudi money, LIV Golf had no choice but to seek outside investors.

It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2026, which effectively canceled all player contracts.

THE BIRTH OF LIV GOLF

LIV Golf burst onto the scene in June 2022.

It was funded entirely by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The league offered massive guaranteed contracts to lure players away from the PGA Tour.

It signed a mix of stars in their prime and past-their-prime veterans.

Major champions like Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Phil Mickelson joined for reported nine-figure paydays.

The league’s 54-hole, no-cut format was a radical departure from traditional golf.

It held events around the world, including at courses owned by former President Donald Trump.

THE PGA TOUR WAR

The PGA Tour immediately banned any member who played in LIV Golf events.

It suspended defecting golfers, including all the major champions who had left.

Those suspensions triggered a wave of bitter legal battles.

DeChambeau, Mickelson, and others filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.

They accused the tour of using monopoly power to penalize independent contractors.

The case became one of the most closely watched legal fights in professional sports.

In June 2023, the PGA Tour and the Saudi fund stunned the golf world.

They announced a framework agreement to form one unified commercial entity and end all litigation.

The deal would have merged the commercial operations of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV Golf into a single for-profit company.

But the talks stalled.

The PGA Tour even enlisted Donald Trump to help broker a deal.

The president, an avid golfer whose courses had hosted multiple LIV events, tried to mediate between the two sides.

It didn’t work.

The PGA Tour ultimately rejected the Saudi fund’s offer to invest $1.5 billion.

The Saudi fund had demanded that LIV Golf remain intact and that fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan co-chair the PGA Tour Enterprises board.

The PGA Tour said no.

CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY

From the beginning, LIV Golf faced intense criticism.

Critics called the league a vehicle for Saudi Arabia to improve its reputation and deflect attention from its human rights record.

The Saudi government denies accusations of human rights abuses.

But the criticism never stopped.

Families of 9/11 victims, human rights groups, and members of Congress all spoke out against the league.

They pointed to Saudi Arabia’s role in the 9/11 attacks, its involvement in the war in Yemen, and its treatment of dissidents and women.

LIV Golf’s defenders argued that the league was simply a business venture and that Saudi Arabia was investing in sports like many other nations.

They noted that the PGA Tour had accepted Saudi money through its partnership with the Saudi-backed Aramco and other deals.

But the controversy never fully went away.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

LIV Golf will now proceed with an orderly wind-down under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.