LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, in a major fall for the Saudi-backed league that had big ambitions to challenge the PGA Tour.
The company filed in New Jersey. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, its main financial backer, has agreed to provide $49.6 million in debtor-in-possession financing.
The league said in a statement that it remains in “advanced discussions” with players to take control of the business.
LIV said that BC Partners Credit and other investors are expected to provide exit financing to capitalise the reorganised company when it leaves Chapter 11.
The company burst on to the golf scene in 2022, shaking up the sport by signing top professional players to giant contracts and offering faster tournament play with more theatrics. It was all made possible by the Saudis, as part of their big push into sports investing that also includes football and tennis.
But earlier this year, the Saudis decided to stop funding LIV amid a broader shift in strategy towards investments with better returns. PIF had invested an estimated $5 billion over four years in the league.
The question remains how sustainable this version of LIV will be without Saudi capital. The withdrawal was reported in April and in the following months LIV could not secure another funding source to avoid bankruptcy.
Maintaining players will be crucial and some of the top golfers the league lured away have returned to the PGA Tour and been financially penalised in doing so.
But others have not gone back to the PGA, and LIV is trying to persuade them to stay, with settlements on what they were owed on their previous contracts and then offers of ownership in the league.
