[Photo: Michael Miller/ISI Photos]
It appears LIV 2.0 is over before it started. And the impact will quickly be felt in Adelaide.
BC Partners is dropping its bid to relaunch LIV Golf, according to multiple reports, the first from the Financial Times, followed by The Athletic and ESPN. That leaves LIV likely looking to liquidate its remaining assets after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.
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BC Partners, a private capital firm, had pledged as much as $US300 million to keep a new version of the league going. However, after delaying a player commitment deadline, multiple reports say there weren’t enough golfers to satisfy the company to move forward with the investment.
The Financial Times had previously reported that as many as 15 players had agreed to stay on. However, only four – Cameron Tringale, Richard Bland, Ben Campbell and Brendan Steele – had been confirmed. The DP World Tour announcing that it would not allow LIV players to also hold membership on its tour in 2027 made it a tougher sell for those thinking of continuing with the league.
In the past month, many of LIV’s top players had publicly announced they were not signing on for LIV 2.0, including Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen, Abraham Ancer, Graeme McDowell and our own Lucas Herbert.
Speaking on Radio 5AA this morning, South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas conceded that LIV Golf Adelaide looked to be over.
“I haven’t heard anything official from LIV in the past 24 hours,” Malinauskas said. “Needless to say… I’ve been making pretty clear to LIV Golf themselves the same message that BC Capital Partners have had, and that is, whether or not South Australia is even willing to host an event is going to be contingent upon them having the playing stock that reflects what we’ve had in the past. Now, that clearly hasn’t come to fruition and BC Capital Partners have made their announcement this morning via the Financial Times.
“I think that’s ‘stumps’, as far as I can tell,” the premier added before turning his thoughts to both the past and the future.
South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas [left], pictured with LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil last year, says his government’s arrangement with the Australian Open will become the new golf focus.
“There’s two reflections. One, we had four years of this, and when you add it up, it’s $314.6 million economic benefit to the state of South Australia over those four years, which completely dwarfs the state government contribution. We’ve had 390,000 people come through the gate, so it’s been good.
“Now we just have to pivot to the Australian Open, which we’ve obviously got a six-year deal with Golf Australia that we arranged post-seeing the news that LIV was in a bit of trouble.”
LIV’s future had been uncertain since April, when it lost the financial backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The PIF had reportedly invested an estimated $US5 billion-plus into the league since it launched in 2022.
Under the proposed restructuring, BC Partners would have financed an attempted LIV return in 2027 through what the league described as a “recapitalisation transaction”. BC Partners has ties to GSE Worldwide, the agency representing a sizeable portion of LIV’s roster. But Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and others opted out and others remained non-committal. Bryson DeChambeau had previously stated his want to stay with LIV, but has been publicly quiet over the past month, leaving LIV a league without a roster.
LIV’s financial troubles have extended beyond its players. Several contractors say they have not been paid for their work, while the league also faces a lawsuit from the Premier Golf League alleging breach of confidence and conspiracy by unlawful means.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story. Check back here for further updates.
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