LIV to shut down operations after investor pulls away

LIV Invitational has announced it is closing down after five turbulent years, with its backers withdrawing the financial support needed to keep the breakaway circuit alive. 

Attorneys for the league confirmed in a New Jersey bankruptcy hearing that it will abandon its planned “LIV 2.0” relaunch and move instead toward an orderly wind-down, with operations expected to begin closing next week.

The immediate trigger was BC Partners’ decision to withdraw from a proposed rescue package worth up to $300 million. The investment firm had been positioned to replace Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as LIV’s principal backer. Still, it concluded that the league could not secure enough player commitments within the required timeline to become a viable business.

LIV’s troubles began in April, when the PIF said it would no longer fund the circuit after the 2026 season. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund had invested heavily since LIV launched in 2022, with reports placing its total outlay at more than $5 billion. 

Its withdrawal left the league without its financial foundation and forced it to seek bankruptcy protection in September.

BC Partners initially appeared to offer a lifeline. Its plan involved financing tournaments in 2027 and restructuring LIV around player equity rather than the large guaranteed contracts that had defined the league’s early years. 

But the proposal depended on attracting enough leading players, and several major names declined to commit.

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were among those who stepped away, while other prominent golfers also chose not to sign binding agreements.

The league had reportedly secured interest from around 30 players, including major champions, but BC Partners wanted a stronger group of marquee names to make the project commercially credible. 

As deadlines passed and negotiations failed to produce the necessary commitments, the investor concluded that a relaunch was no longer feasible.

LIV’s collapse brings a sharp end to one of golf’s most disruptive experiments. The circuit entered the sport in 2022 with enormous financial backing, lucrative player deals and a team-based format designed to challenge the PGA Tour. 

It succeeded in drawing several high-profile players away from established tours, but it never achieved the stability, audience growth or broad legitimacy its founders had promised.