Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund put more than $5bn into the league over four years, and South Australia’s premier said LIV’s 2027 Adelaide event will not go ahead.
LIV Golf is winding down after BC Partners Credit withdrew from a deal to provide up to $300m in financing for a relaunched league, known as LIV 2.0.
BC Partners decided the relaunch was not viable after LIV failed to secure enough player commitments, according to the Financial Times and The Athletic.
An attorney for LIV told the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey the LIV 2.0 proposal is not viable.
LIV Golf: Deadlines passed without a deal
LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 8 September, five months after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) said it would stop funding the league beyond the 2026 season.
LIV cancelled events in Louisiana and Michigan after the PIF pulled its funding in April.
Under the restructuring support agreement Kaplan approved on 14 October, BC Partners would have owned 45% of the reorganised league, with players holding 52.5% and management 2.5%.
The agreement required LIV to sign a “requisite number of players” to continue as a bona fide golf league.
BC Partners set a 25 October deadline for player commitments, later extended to 1 November.
The PIF set 30 October as its deadline to decide whether LIV would continue or wind down. Both dates passed without announcements from any party.
LIV 2.0 needed 30 to 40 players. Those working on the project had commitments from co-investors and about 30 players signed up, including major winners. Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard said about 10 more players were in discussions.
Jon Rahm, LIV’s individual champion in each of the last three seasons, will not join. His lawyer, John Beck, told the court on 7 October that Rahm had found the LIV 2.0 terms “unacceptable.” Tyrrell Hatton, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen, Abraham Ancer, David Puig, Thomas Pieters and Sergio Garcia also said they would not join.
The departures meant LIV 2.0 had little left to offer players or investors by the start of November.
The DP World Tour said it would deny membership to any player who joins LIV 2.0 in 2027, which would rule them out of Ryder Cup selection.
LIV had scheduled a 2027 event at Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide from 18-21 March. South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas said on Thursday he did not expect it to go ahead.
