LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection

LIV Golf bankruptcy: Saudi-backed league files Chapter 11

*
* Newsletters
*
* Axios Pro
* Axios Live
* The Axios Show

Axios

Axios

1 hour ago - Business

Saudi-backed LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection

* Nathan Bomey

*
*
*

Add Axios on Google

Add Axios as your preferred source to

see more of our stories on Google.

Add Axios on Google

!A golfer wearing a navy blue polo and matching cap stands outdoors on a sunny course, eyes closed, with a blurred green background.

*Bryson DeChambeau reacts after a missed putt during the LIV Golf Indianapolis tournament on Aug. 23. Photo: Michael Miller/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images*

LIV Golf — the Saudi-backed league that upended the sport with a costly splash but failed to identify a viable business model — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday.

**Why it matters:** It's an ignominious turn of events for a brash organization that lured some of the biggest stars away from the PGA Tour with enormous paydays that proved to be unsustainable.

**The big picture:** LIV represents a high-profile flop for its Saudi investors.

* The bankruptcy filing comes after months of efforts to lure new backers and chart a new path for a league that struggled to draw significant TV ratings.

**Catch up quick:** The Public Investment Fund — Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund — confirmed in April that it was withdrawing support for the league after the 2026 season.

* PIF — which ultimately plunged more than $5 billion into LIV, according to Money in Sport — decided to ditch LIV after President Trump's war in Iran scrambled geopolitics in the Middle East and jolted energy prices.
* The fund said in a statement that the "substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF's investment strategy."

**Between the lines:** LIV said Tuesday that it had secured a restructuring support agreement from an arm of BC Partners to reorganize operations and emerge "majority owned by players."

* The bankruptcy could lead to the severing of key contracts, including with star players like Jon Rahm, whose defection to LIV was considered a significant loss for the PGA Tour.
* It could also serve as a major turning point in the career of superstar Bryson DeChambeau, one of the initial players to leave the PGA for LIV.
* PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has made it clear that any players who want to return will need to earn their way back, calling the tour a meritocracy by its nature.
* **LIV said Tuesday that it** "remains in advanced discussions with" the players.

**Friction point:** Critics of LIV and the players who joined it said the league amounted to "sportswashing" as the Saudis sought to redirect attention from human rights abuses.

* Defenders — including LIV member and former PGA superstar Phil Mickelson — said the league would help grow the game on a global scale.

*
*
*

Add Axios on Google

What to read next

*
*
*
*
*
*

Smarter, faster on what matters.

Explore Axios Newsletters

* About Axios
* Advertise with us
* Careers
* Contact us

* Newsletters
* Axios Live
* Axios HQ

* Privacy policy
* Terms of use
*

Axios Homepage

Axios Media Inc., 2026