LIV Golf Loses $300 Million Funding as Potential Shutdown Looms

LIV Golf is expected to seek liquidation after the lending arm of investment firm BC Partners pulled out of a plan to provide up to $300 million in financing for a 2027 relaunch, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. The investment firm pulled out as a deadline approached and the league still had too few players willing to sign contracts for next season. LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 8 after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said it would stop funding the league after the 2026 season. The proposed relaunch, known as LIV Golf 2.0, would have kept the team format, given players an ownership stake, and put at least 10 tournaments on the calendar. About half were expected to take place outside the United States. BC Partners Credit, the firm’s lending arm, announced an initial investment commitment in October as part of the proposed financing. The deal depended on enough players signing up for the new league. Axios reported that at least 30 golfers had indicated interest, but some of their representatives were still negotiating financial terms as deadlines in the bankruptcy case approached. Players also had to weigh what signing would mean for their careers outside LIV. The DP World Tour told golfers who joined the proposed league they would be ineligible for membership, according to the Associated Press. For European players, that would also put the Ryder Cup out of reach. Some of LIV’s best-known players had already moved on. Jon Rahm reached a separation agreement with the league in October after his lawyer told the bankruptcy court he would sit out the proposed relaunch, Golf Channel reported. Sergio Garcia also left, Axios reported. Brooks Koepka had returned to the PGA Tour in January under a program that gave eligible former members a path back. Bryson DeChambeau, one of the biggest names still on LIV’s roster, had spoken favorably about the proposed league’s business model, Reuters reported. His next move remains unclear. The news drew jokes on X about the league’s business model and questions about whether its players could return to the PGA Tour.