LIV Golf Files for Bankruptcy After PIF Funding Pullout — SkimNews
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- LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States in September 2026, reiterating its intention to relaunch as "LIV 2.0" from 2027, with Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau listed as the players owed the most money.
- Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund confirmed in April 2026 it was pulling its funding of LIV at the end of 2026, prompting LIV to seek external investors; in August 2026, LIV said it had found a new lead investor and that players would become majority equity holders.
- Jon Rahm told an October 2026 bankruptcy hearing he would not participate in LIV 2.0, deeming the relaunch terms "unacceptable" — a major blow to the new venture's credibility before it has even launched.
- LIV's 2026 season ended a week early in August 2026 after the league scrapped its season-ending Team Championship in Michigan, capping years of speculation about the circuit's viability.
- The June 2023 framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF — meant to unify men's golf — collapsed without delivering a merger, and LIV's OWGR bid initially failed in October 2023 before limited points (top 10 only, which LIV called "unfair") were granted in February 2026.
- LIV Golf informed the majority of its workforce in September 2026 that their employment under "LIV 1.0" would end, following earlier redundancy warnings earlier in the year.
Why it matters: LIV Golf's bankruptcy filing leaves the majority of its workforce without jobs and puts Rahm and DeChambeau in line as creditors, while the PIF's funding withdrawal eliminates the sovereign-wealth lifeline that built the breakaway circuit — and its biggest star has already refused to join the relaunch.
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