The LIV Golf shutdown leaves behind an estimated $500 million to $1 billion in debt. Lawyers for the Saudi-backed league confirmed the wind-down to a New Jersey bankruptcy court on Thursday in a hearing that lasted just 13 minutes.
Five years, billions of dollars and one rebuilt sport later, the league that promised to blow up golf went out on a short statement from a lawyer. BC Partners walked away from the rescue a day earlier. Now the end is on the record.
What the end of LIV Golf means for the sport
LIV changed golf, no question. It forced the PGA Tour to pay players like never before. It also cracked open a game that had barely changed in decades. But the league that set out to disrupt it couldn’t survive without a Saudi blank check. Monday’s filing will show exactly what that was worth.
Players who jumped ship now face an uncertain road back. Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Sergio Garcia announced plans to leave for the DP World Tour. But the DP World Tour ruled in October that LIV members are ineligible for its events. The PGA Tour also kept its suspension of LIV players. It did offer a one-time return path to a few LIV members, notably Rahm and DeChambeau, but no one else followed. Even Rory McIlroy’s claims about LIV and the European Tour show how raw those feelings still are.
What LIV Golf’s lawyers told the court about the wind-down
Matthew Williams, a Gibson Dunn partner representing LIV, told the court the debtors are “not currently proceeding with the LIV 2.0 plan,” according to the Associated Press. Instead, the league is moving to a LIV Golf wind-down meant to get the most value out of what’s left. “We believe the wind-down path is the best path,” Williams said, per CBS Sports.
The wind-down begins Monday, Nov. 9. LIV plans to file its Chapter 11 liquidation plan and disclosure statement by then, Front Office Sports reports. The assets headed for sale include real estate and trademarks.
Why the money behind the LIV Golf shutdown disappeared
The funding collapsed in three steps. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said in April it would stop funding LIV after the 2026 season. LIV then filed for Chapter 11 on Sept. 8, with the PIF as its largest creditor and in control of the bankruptcy process. Then, according to Front Office Sports, BC Partners Credit pulled its $300 million offer to finance the league after it emerged from bankruptcy. Per CNBC’s reporting, LIV never lined up enough player commitments. BC Partners said it had backed “a transaction that aligned the interests of players and investors,” while LIV said the parties couldn’t agree on certain outstanding terms. Once the PIF’s money stopped, nothing else with real cash behind it stepped in, and LIV Golf was done.
The “LIV 2.0” relaunch was supposed to be the rescue. It promised a shorter schedule, smaller prize money and equity stakes for players. Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard reported that 30 to 40 players, including Bryson DeChambeau, had signed on. That wasn’t enough for the lender.
The bill nobody wants to read after the end of LIV Golf
The sticker shock is staggering. AP and CNBC put the PIF’s spending at more than $5 billion. CBS says closer to $7 billion. The final tally may have to wait for the court filings.
What’s left owed is easier to size up. Brooklyn Law professor Jodi Balsam told Golf Channel that LIV’s debts are estimated at $500 million to $1 billion. Creditors will now line up for whatever the LIV Golf liquidation brings in.
