Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
LIV Golf’s attempt to resurrect itself into a version 2.0 was officially flushed down the Ty-Dee bowl Thursday morning in a New Jersey bankruptcy courtroom.
According to early reports, the $300 million of financial support promised by private equity firm BC Partners was withdrawn this week. A re-launch under the name of LIV Golf 2.0 was being planned.
More than 50% of the top LIV golfers failed to commit to participating in this proposed lower-cost new business plan for the struggling golf tour.
TV’s Golf Channel quickly rolled out its analysts to discuss the past, present, and future for golfers who jumped to play in the five year old golf league.
Former PGA player Brandel Chamblee (Golf Channel’s LIV Golf basher-in-chief) eloquently discussed this morning how LIV Golf had done irreparable damage to the great game of golf over the past five seasons.
How, Brandel?
The golfers receiving those huge signing bonuses to move to LIV Golf did quite well financially.
Yes, they chose to take up-front money and play in fewer events than grinding it out weekly on the PGA Tour. It was their decision. They should bear any future consequences.
LIV Golf offered a tournament purse which was nearly double of an average weekly PGA Tour event. There were no cuts in LIV’s smaller field events. A last place finisher in a LIV Golf event would still take home $50,000.
LIV Golf spent money like the proverbial drunken sailor for five straight years.
LIV Golf’s Jon Rahm won about $80 million in tournament earnings over the past three seasons.
That amount is in addition to estimated $300 million signing bonus he received.
PGA Tour golfers also benefited from the existence of LIV Golf.
LIV Golf poached dozens of players away from the stodgy long-time golf tour. In response, do you remember that the PGA Tour announced a merger with LIV Golf during the summer of 2023?
Months passed with no word about those merger talks.
In early 2024, the PGA Tour announced they had acquired $3 billion worth of funding from a private equity investment partner named Strategic Sports Group.
The PGA Tour utilized some of that money to finance an increase in certain tournament payouts and to fund a new long-term incentive program encouraging PGA Tour players to stay put.
Apparently, that proposed merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour was officially dead.
The DP World Tour has benefited from LIV Golf’s existence.
Several prominent LIV golfers have participated in various DP World Tour events in recent years. Many LIV golfers have applied or will apply to become full-time members on the DP World Tour beginning in 2027.
Golf fans around the world have benefited from LIV Golf. Events were played in long-ignored golf-starved venues such as Adelaide, Australia and South Africa.
LIV Golf drew a much younger audience to its tournaments.
Who would have thought that golfers and fans would enjoy hearing music while the players are on the course.
LIV Golf’s unique 4-man team competition encouraged each player to remain focused on team goals even if that individual golfer had no chance of winning the singles title on Sunday.
I was a big fan of LIV Golf’s shotgun starts. All golfers began play at the same time and under the same weather conditions. The PGA Tour should consider doing the same – twice per day.
The biggest losers were Saudi Arabia’s investors
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund flushed an estimated $6 billion to fund LIV Golf’s player signing bonuses and the over-inflated tournament purses during the past five seasons.
The Saudi PIF assets are more than $1 trillion. Even those massive losses posted by LIV Golf will cost their investors a mere .6% overall.
That’s a blip on the financial radar.
LIV Golf’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy hearing in New Jersey showed assets of $100-$500 million but liabilities of $500 million to $1 billion. My worst case scenario (assets of $100 million and liabilities of $1 billion) means there might be as little as ten cents on the dollar available to creditors as LIV Golf winds-down the business.
The Saudi PIF invested another $50 million this fall to finance LIV Golf’s continued operations during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. The bankruptcy court will order the repayment of that $50 million as a preferred creditor.
Most creditors are unsecured. They will share whatever is left over after the secured creditors are taken care of.
That likely means pennies on the dollar for unsecured claims during the wind-down of LIV Golf.
That list includes dozens of LIV golfers, countless vendors and a host of other service providers who performed work for the company and were not paid. They are part of the unsecured creditor class.
What are the options for LIV Golf tour players now?
The DP World Tour advised LIV golfers on October 12 that they must choose to participate entirely with their tour in 2027 or stick with LIV Golf 2.0 next season. There will be no more jumping from one tour to another within the golf season.
That announcement led to a thundering herd of popular former LIV golfers signing-up for the DP World Tour in recent weeks. Several LIV golfers with European roots are hoping to play well enough in 2027 to earn a spot on the Ryder Cup team.
It is much more complicated (of course) for LIV golfers wanting to return to the US-based PGA Tour.
It seems like the long-time golf tour wants to inflict varying amounts of “punishment” on any former PGA Tour golfers who had the gall to leave for LIV Golf up to five years ago.
The PGA Tour will use their microscope to examine each player’s transgressions and establish some form of required penitence.
The PGA Tour has already negotiated a couple of “deals” in the past year. They have allowed former major champions such as Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed to return from LIV Golf – under certain conditions.
Koepka’s plan involved writing a $5 million check to charity and not participating in any of the PGA Tour’s new limited field “Signature” events. Those events had never taken place before LIV Golf arrived.
Brooks Koepka ended his first year back with just one top ten finish in 16 PGA Tour events played. He finished #94 in FedEx Cup points.
Patrick Reed’s route back to the PGA Tour required a full year of waiting in exile.
He spent 2026 on the DP World golf tour. Reed won two events on that tour this year.
He has been cleared to return to the traditional PGA Tour beginning in January.
A number of popular American golfers who participated in LIV Golf events want to see what is required to return to play on the PGA Tour soon.
However, PGA veterans such as Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and others have spoken negatively about the break-away group of golfers who vamoosed to take the money offered by LIV Golf.
The PGA Tour appears to be trying to appease its current players while realizing that fan favorites such as Bryson DeChambeau will bring thousands of additional fans to several of its tournament stops.
Isn’t there a reasonable way to resolve this? Of course! Read on.
Win/win idea – Allow LIV Golf stars to participate on the PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour in 2027 and 2028!
This plan makes so much sense.
The Korn Ferry Tour is owned by the PGA Tour. It is a successful developmental league for up-and-coming golfers and a few former stars wanting to earn a chance to return. Golfers finishing in the top 20 at season’s end receive a promotion to the PGA Tour for the following golf season.
The 2026 Korn Ferry Tour schedule featured 25 events.
All but four of its tournaments featured a total prize money of $1 million. First place netted $180,000 in the majority of tournaments. Most Korn Ferry events feature large fields of 140 or more golfers.
In other words, Korn Ferry Tour golfers compete just as hard but for substantially less money as the PGA Tour’s players.
Most Korn Ferry Tour events in 2026 were held in medium-sized US markets such as Knoxville, Tennessee, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Amarillo, Texas.
Can you imagine the boost in local interest and ticket sales if former LIV Golf stars like Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and Bubba Watson were entered in the field?
Golf fans in those communities would get a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a few of golf’s major champions in person at their local Korn Ferry Tour event in 2027.
Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, and other former LIV Golf stars should be given priority status to enter any Korn Ferry Tour event in 2027 and 2028. If one or more former LIV golfer finishes the season in the top 20, he will have earned a spot back on the PGA Tour in the following season.
For the sake of fairness, any non-LIV golfer bumped out of the top 20 would still receive his PGA Tour card over the next two seasons.
Former LIV golfers who fail to reach the PGA Tour (via the Korn Ferry Tour) after the 2027 and 2028 seasons will lose their priority entrance status in future years.
You’ve gotta prove that you still have game!
The PGA Tour golfers can breathe easier knowing they won’t have to see or compete against former LIV Golf stars in 2027. If a LIV golfer does earns a spot from a top 20 Korn Ferry Tour season in 2027 or 2028, his return will be based on recent merit.
Most golf fans want to see the best players competing while in their prime.
Forget the spiteful financial punishments such as Brooks Keopka was forced to make. Most of the LIV golfers have plenty of money to cover almost any fine concocted by the PGA Tour.
They simply want to PLAY GOLF!
Make the LIV Golfers earn their way back onto the PGA Tour by performance – just like everyone else must do!