LIV Golf Files For Bankruptcy – What Went Wrong?

The LIV Golf League is bankrupt, and the future of the rival league to the PGA Tour remains unknown.

LIV Golf was established in 2022 by the Saudi PIF, a public investment fund that backed the league and aimed to grow the game in a team format rather than the PGA Tour’s format. Former golfer Greg Norman was the face of the organization as its first CEO, and fan favorite Phil Mickelson was the first player to announce his support and became the league’s player face, even though he was in the back half of his career.

Since then, the league has signed many stars and split the sport into two leagues, and even though Mickelson has been absent lately, it was a big deal.

Stars such as Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm signed with the league over the years for amounts as big as $500 million.

Prize pools were much larger than the PGA Tour’s, as the Saudi PIF had unlimited resources to attract players, especially those in the back half of their careers.

The downfall began last year when Brooks Koepka exited the league; he originally joined because it got his brother, Chase Koepka, a spot as well, which got him off the mini tours. The mini tours are a tough life, so Brooks was happy to set his brother up for life, but when Chase was relegated, Brooks no longer needed to be there and left.

Earlier this year, the Saudi PIF pulled their funding from the league, leaving the already non-profit league in shambles. There were reports that new investors were coming in, but that seems unlikely now that the bankruptcy news has broken.

The future remains unknown, but this is likely the league’s final year. The league never made a profit on its sales, relying on unlimited PIF resources, so it is hard to see how it can survive without Saudi Arabian involvement.