Whispers of bankruptcy may be haunting LIV Golf, but at least one expert sees another way out for the breakaway league.
LIV Golf Korea is taking place against the backdrop of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) – who have backed the tournament to the tune of $5bn – having confirmed it will pull its funding at the end of the 2026 season.
The league is running out of road, losing tens of millions of dollars every week after splurging on mind-melting guaranteed player contracts. Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson’s deals alone are worth a combined $500m.
LIV Golf is now seeking $250-350m in fresh capital to keep the lights on.
If they secure that investment, it will come with concessions. In its current form, the league is simply commercially unviable.
Would-be backers have been told by the investment bank Ducera Partners, who are managing the process, that the LIV Golf schedule could shrink to 10 events, down from the current 14.
Players could also take equity stakes in the enterprise. One report this week even suggested that some players – Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood among them – are even prepared to pledge their own money to keep the league afloat.
Under his proposed new model designed alongside AlixPartners, CEO Scott O’Neil thinks LIV can be profitable within two years. The product, most fans agree, is strong. With a fair wind and a more disciplined, realistic approach to the finances, it can be a success.
That’s the blue-sky vision, anyway.
There are, however, no guarantees that O’Neil and his peers in the LIV boardroom will get their investment. And Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a material possibility. LIV is even reportedly considering relocating to the United States, where restructuring law is more favourable.
That might sound ominous. But writing for Sports Business Journal, Rezerve Group managing director T. Barrett Wood says bankruptcy might actually be the best course of action, allowing the league to tighten its balance sheet and re-emerge as a leaner, more appealing enterprise to investors.
Barrett Wood suggests that bankruptcy could even be announced alongside news of a sale. That would be what is known as a pre-pack insolvency.
Barrett Wood also writes: ‘Do not be surprised by a sale or merger in the next 30 to 90 days. Those discussions have certainly been happening for months.’
The situation is fluid, but bankruptcy would not necessarily be the end for LIV Golf. There may yet be life after PIF.
