LIV Golf to Liquidate After $300 Million Relaunch Financing Falls Through

LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed breakaway golf league, said Thursday it will liquidate, ending a five-year run after a last-ditch $300 million financing plan collapsed. Lawyers told a New Jersey bankruptcy court hearing that the league was shifting from restructuring to full liquidation. BC Partners, whose lending arm had tentatively agreed to fund a 2027 relaunch called LIV Golf 2.0, withdrew because too few players had committed to sign. LIV filed for Chapter 11 protection in September after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which had put more than $5 billion into the league since 2022, said it would stop funding after the 2026 season. Gene Davis and Jon Zinman of the board's special committee said an orderly wind-down was the most responsible path, though LIV would still consider value-maximizing alternatives from third parties. Jon Rahm was among the stars who announced departures. It was not immediately clear how much LIV owes creditors.

Left-leaning outlets NBC News and The Guardian US lead with the shutdown and set it within the league's history: the 2021 founding by golfers led by Phil Mickelson and Greg Norman, guaranteed payouts and the PGA Tour's suspensions of defectors. NBC adds the lack of a long-term U.S. TV partner and complaints that events lacked drama, while the Guardian quotes the special committee. Right-leaning outlets agree on the $300 million failure and the $5 billion in Saudi money but stress other details. The Daily Mail's headline bluntly calls the league dead and cites lawyers' confirmation in court. Breitbart, citing the Financial Times, focuses on the lost funding, the relaunch terms, Axios's count of at least 30 interested golfers, and the DP World Tour's ineligibility warning that would cost European players Ryder Cup eligibility. Alternative outlets Axios and Yahoo Sports largely match these accounts.