Westwood Exposes the True Reason LIV Golf Is Collapsing

Lee Westwood has broken his silence.

The 53-year-old Englishman was one of the first major names to sign with LIV Golf in 2022.

Now, as the Saudi-backed league files for bankruptcy and watches its stars walk away, Westwood has revealed what he says is the real reason the whole thing is falling apart.

It was money.

Speaking on The Chipping Forecast podcast just hours before LIV's lawyers confirmed the tour would wind down operations, Westwood did not sugarcoat his motivation.

"A massive financial package was put in front of me — I would have been stupid to turn it down," Westwood said.

He added: "I have no problem saying part of it was financial. I've made a fortune over the last four and a half years."

But Westwood also made it clear that the money alone was not what drove him to join.

"That wasn't solely the reason that I signed up with LIV," he said.

He was drawn to the team format, having represented Europe in 11 Ryder Cups.

Yet when it came time to commit to LIV 2.0 — the proposed reboot that was supposed to save the league — Westwood said no.

"There was nothing presented to me that was agreeable for LIV 2.0," he said.

"Literally, I'm unemployed!"

Westwood is not alone.

Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Lucas Herbert, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter have all publicly left the tour in recent weeks.

LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2026 after losing the financial backing of Saudi Arabia in April, amid the ongoing Iran war.

By the time BC Partners Credit was lined up to provide up to $300 million to finance a revamped competition, it was too late.

LIV failed to convince enough major names to sign up.

The deal fell apart.

Westwood confirmed he did not sign the Restructuring Support Agreement between LIV Golf and BC Partners.

"Deadlines have come and gone, and I've heard nothing, whether I have to sign or I don't have to sign," he said.

"I haven't signed 2.0. I haven't signed anything. This everybody talks about, I haven't signed that."

Westwood's comments come amid a heated war of words over LIV's legacy.

DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings recently told The Scotsman that LIV spent over $7 billion with one of its aims being to "destroy the DP World Tour."

Rory McIlroy backed that claim at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, saying he heard similar talk at this year's Masters in April.

"I agree with Guy," McIlroy said.

"They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race. They were going around Augusta saying they wanted to destroy the European Tour."

Westwood pushed back hard.

"I have never heard any players who play on LIV say that they want to kill the European Tour," Westwood told TalkSport.

"Why would they do that? Most are actually playing on the European Tour as well, that was the main source of world ranking points."

He questioned the timing of the accusation.

"Why would you bring it up now, why now bring it up right after it happened at Augusta?" Westwood said.

"The statement there seems to me that we are going to try and blame LIV for everything now it is going. Maybe Guy is about to break some bad news to his membership and needs an excuse."

Westwood's own future is uncertain.

He resigned his DP World Tour membership in 2023 after an arbitration panel ruled that the tour could sanction players for playing in conflicting events without a release.

Rejoining would come with a 10-tournament suspension, meaning he could not tee it up until May in Turkey.

Westwood said he is considering that option.

He is also eyeing the senior circuit.

"I've looked at the start of next year, and I'm going to enter the Sunningdale Foursomes with Sam, my son, first week in March," Westwood said.

"And then there's a senior event the week after."

For now, Westwood remains unsigned.

He has not put out a press release.

He has not made a statement about where he will play next.

"I don't feel like I've got to put a press release out where I go and work," he said.

"It's nobody's business but mine where I go and play golf."

The collapse of LIV Golf leaves a complicated legacy.

Launched in 2022 with $20 million purses, the league poached some of the biggest names in golf from the PGA Tour.

It promised a new team format and a shorter schedule.

But the financial model was always dependent on Saudi Arabian backing.

When that funding dried up in April 2026, the tour had no fallback.

Bankruptcy followed in September.