The future of LIV Golf without Saudi Arabian funding
LIV Golf faces an uncertain future after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund withdrew its backing, having spent more than $5 billion since the rebel league launched in 2022. Without a new funding deal from BC Partners' Ted Goldthorpe, the Indianapolis finale could mark the end—or a leaner LIV 2.0 reboot. CEO Scott O'Neil insists a transaction is within reach, but vendors are suing over unpaid bills and prize money has been cut sharply.
For anyone tracking how sovereign wealth reshapes sport—and what happens when that tap closes—wealth and investment trends in professional golf have rarely looked this volatile. Fifty-seven players await clarity on contracts worth tens of millions.
Key Takeaways
- Saudi PIF funding ends after this season; LIV spent over $5bn (£3.6bn) across four years of operation.
- BC Partners' Ted Goldthorpe has agreed a term sheet for 2027–2030 funding, but the deal depends on enough top players committing to stay.
- A slimmed-down "LIV 2.0" would feature 10 events, franchise sales, player equity, and roughly half the prize money of recent seasons.
- Without a transaction, options include bankruptcy, pre-packaged insolvency, or a buyer paying all outstanding bills and player contracts.
- Jon Rahm alone is reportedly owed more than $100 million, complicating any return to the PGA Tour.
Why did Saudi Arabia pull LIV Golf funding?
LIV Golf launched in 2022 as a brash breakaway league, luring major champions with record contracts bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. Over four years, the Public Investment Fund poured more than $5 billion into the venture, according to BBC Sport.
PIF said it would fund operations through the end of the 2026 season, but financial pressure forced hard choices. Organisers cancelled the LIV Golf Team Championship in Michigan—originally scheduled for late August—and shortened the Indianapolis event into an early season finale. Weekend live music sets, a staple of LIV events, were also dropped.
Overall losses for this era are expected to run into several billions of dollars. With the Saudi tap now closed, cashflow problems surfaced quickly. BBC Sport reported vendors suing LIV over unpaid invoices, and The Independent noted suppliers and players were still waiting on outstanding payments. O'Neil pledged to "do right by" contractors caught in the squeeze.
What would LIV 2.0 look like under new ownership?
The phrase "LIV 2.0" has become the league's rallying cry. Multiple sources confirmed to BBC Sport that Ted Goldthorpe—head of the credit division at London-based BC Partners—is the prospective lead investor. He attended events in Bedminster and Indianapolis, meeting players privately to outline a vision focused on sustainability and eventual profitability.
The on-course product would largely stay the same: shotgun starts, team competition, music, and party holes. But boardroom economics would change sharply. Prize money at Indianapolis was roughly half that of previous events—a sign of things to come. O'Neil said a reduced schedule of 10 events across five continents would aim to keep players match-fit for majors.
Franchise sales would anchor the business model. One team general manager told BBC Sport there was "significant interest" from investors. Players have been promised equity and regained Name, Image, and Likeness rights to boost endorsement income. If LIV prize pools shrink while the PGA Tour's have risen—partly in response to LIV's disruption—LIV payouts would likely sit between the PGA Tour's Championship and Challenger series tiers.
Will LIV Golf's star players stay or leave?
Player commitment is the deal-breaker. O'Neil told reporters in Indianapolis that BC Partners' term sheet is conditional on securing a "critical mass" of the existing roster for 2027 and beyond. A deadline exists for sign-ups, though he declined to share details.
The mood among the 57-man field is subdued. Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, who joined in 2022, said: "There are 57 players out here on LIV and there are 57 different mindsets." Some hold exemptions on other tours; others have nowhere to go if the league folds.
Spain's Jon Rahm—LIV's three-time consecutive individual champion—is reportedly considering a return to the PGA Tour and remains owed more than $100 million, according to The Independent. If all outstanding player contracts were settled in a new deal, stars like Rahm could not break those agreements early.
Bryson DeChambeau has been the most vocal advocate. After a productive meeting with Goldthorpe, he said: "We definitely have a lot against us. If it works, it works, awesome." American Brendan Steele said he is committed to staying. Cameron Smith, hugely popular in Adelaide, said LIV "has done wonders" for his family and Australian golf—but added: "It would be a shame for it to be done."
What are LIV Golf's options if no deal is reached?
O'Neil acknowledged a "very compressed timeline" to finalise funding and said the league would not rule out bankruptcy. The three main paths, per BBC Sport: filing for bankruptcy, pre-packaged insolvency, or a new owner paying every outstanding bill—including player contracts.
Despite the crisis, O'Neil pointed to growth metrics. LIV said revenue more than doubled from 2024 to 2025, with the first half of 2026 trending higher. Adelaide drew a record 115,000 fans; 100,000 attended South Africa and 50,000 a recent UK event. Sponsors, he claimed, are not "running for the hills."
One senior golf media figure told BBC Sport the league is "at the hospice, not the funeral." Another insider said, "it's darkest before dawn." Whether that dawn breaks as LIV 2.0 or a full stop depends on whether Goldthorpe's transaction lands—and whether enough players bet their careers on a second chapter without Saudi billions behind it.