Report: LIV Golf relaunch collapses as BC Partners drops bid, league faces liquidation

Report: LIV Golf relaunch collapses as BC Partners drops bid, league faces liquidation.

Key points

• LIV Golf will not receive funding for its 2027 season from BC Partners.
• LIV Golf and BC Partners were seeking 30 to 40 players to compete on the circuit next season.
• In April, the Saudi Public Investment Fund decided to end its financial backing of LIV Golf, leaving the league scrambling to find new investors.
• BC Partners had planned to invest $300 million into the breakaway golf tour, provided it could obtain enough players to commit to competing next year.
• Despite the financial turmoil, bankruptcy court documents made public that LIV Golf produced a number of multimillion-dollar payments to top executives over the last 18 months.

Report: LIV Golf relaunch collapses as BC Partners drops bid, league faces liquidation. Cameron Jourdan, Nick Stavas Golfweek.

BC Partners had planned to invest $300 million into the breakaway golf tour, provided it could obtain enough players to commit to competing next year. LIV Golf, which filed for bankruptcy in September, is projected to seek liquidation of its assets. The Financial Times was first to report the new Wednesday afternoon.

LIV Golf and BC Partners were seeking 30 to 40 players to compete on the circuit next season. Sources reportedly informed the Financial Times that they had achieved the lower end of that goal with another 10 golfers still mulling commitment, but player representatives were making financial demands that could not be met, thus complicating the negotiations.

Golfweek has reached out to LIV Golf authorities for comment but has not yet received a response.

In April, the Saudi Public Investment Fund decided to end its financial backing of LIV Golf, leaving the league scrambling to find new investors. LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil confirmed in August that an agreement had been reached with a new lead investor. A month afterwards, LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a restructuring agreement with BC Partners aimed at preserving the league and making players majority owners of the reorganized business, dubbed "LIV 2.0."

But when the announcement was created that LIV golfers would no longer be allowed to additionally compete in DP World Tour events throughout next season, what followed was a mass exodus of players from LIV, including plenty of of its top stars like Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter, all of whom opted not to participate in the new-look league. It had planned to feature fewer tournaments and significantly smaller prize pools as of losing Saudi funding.

Josh Carpenter with Sports Business Journal documented that a source stated the remaining "big names" who were still considered to be at the negotiating table as lately as last week ― such as Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Smith, Joaquin Niemann and Dustin Johnson ― chose not to sign with LIV 2.0, leading to BC Partners dropping its bid.

In a podcast appearance on Friday, DeChambeau stood firm in his belief in the circuit's survival, saying during that the new version can "make full financial sense" and he hoped that it would last "forever." But Wednesday's reports suggest that LIV won't even last to next season.

Despite the financial turmoil, bankruptcy court documents made public that LIV Golf produced a number of multimillion-dollar payments to top executives over the last 18 months. Greg Norman, LIV's former commissioner and CEO, received a settlement of regarding $5.8 million and a $3.6 million bonus when he departed in September 2025. O'Neil, Norman's successor, was paid $6.3 million in June 2026 ― more than a month after funding was pulled by the Saudi PIF. It is estimated to have spent around $6 billion on LIV Golf since the league's inception in 2021.

Editor's note: This is a developing story; stay with Golfweek for updates.

Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).

Nick Stavas is a digital producer and commerce writer for Golfweek. Follow him on X/Twitter (@nickstavas). SMS Facebook Twitter Email.

In short, report: LIV Golf relaunch collapses as BC Partners drops bid, league faces is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.