LIV Golf could be headed for liquidation after BC Partners Credit reportedly abandoned plans to fund a relaunch of the breakaway league. The investment firm had pledged up to $300 million toward a revamped version of LIV, known as LIV 2.0, but withdrew the plan after LIV Golf failed to secure enough player commitments, according to the Associated Press. The final fate of the league is still unclear. LIV Golf and BC Partners did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment. LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said it would stop funding the league after the 2026 season. PIF had invested more than $5 billion since LIV launched in 2022, according to its Chapter 11 filing. BC Partners’ proposed relaunch would have made players majority owners of the reorganized league. and presented a reduced schedule. But LIV has lost several prominent players, including Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, as it sought commitments for the new company. Rahm said Tuesday that uncertainty about the future of the league and proposed changes to its format influenced his decision to leave. “There were too many unknowns at the time, and there still are quite a few,” he told reporters ahead of the Abu Dhabi Championships. Rahm added that the revamped competition seemed to move away from the team format that initially attracted him. Garcia, who was released from his contract with LIV in October, has outlined plans to return to the DP World Tour and explore a possible return to the PGA Tour. Only four players had publicly committed to LIV 2.0: Richard Bland, Cameron Tringale, Brendan Steele and Ben Campbell, according to Golf Digest. LIV launched in 2022 as a challenger to the PGA Tour, recruiting top players such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau to lucrative contracts. His arrival divided men’s professional golf, and the PGA Tour suspended members who competed in LIV events. The disputes then reached court, where players challenged the suspensions and rival organizations filed competing legal claims. The PGA Tour denied the allegations, while LIV dismissed counterclaims. A June 2023 framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF ended their litigation and proposed combining their commercial businesses, although the deal was never completed.
