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The LIV Golf League is set to enter liquidation and wind down operations ahead of 2027, bringing an end to a five-year run that deeply fractured men’s professional golf. The breakaway circuit, which launched in 2021 and drew numerous top players away from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, announced the decision following a lack of financial support.
From Inception to High-Profile Signings (2021–2023)
LIV Golf Investments was officially announced in October 2021 with Greg Norman appointed as founding CEO. The circuit held its first event in London in June 2022, which was won by Charl Schwartzel, prompting indefinite suspensions from the PGA Tour and £100,000 fines from the DP World Tour. Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Cameron Smith were among the early high-profile defectors. Henrik Stenson also joined, resulting in him being stripped of his role as Team Europe’s 2023 Ryder Cup captain. In response, players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, while the PGA Tour filed a federal lawsuit against Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy frequently criticised the breakaway league, describing it as a soap opera.
Legal battles continued into 2023, with the DP World Tour winning an arbitration case in April allowing them to fine players for competing in conflicting events. On the course, Koepka became the first LIV golfer to win a major at the PGA Championship. In a stunning development in June 2023, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and PIF announced a framework agreement to unify the game, though McIlroy admitted feeling like a sacrificial lamb. Later that year, Jon Rahm joined LIV Golf in a deal reportedly worth up to £450m.
Merger Talks and Legal Strife (2024–2025)
Tyrrell Hatton and Anthony Kim joined the circuit in early 2024, around the time McIlroy softened his stance on welcoming LIV players back to the PGA Tour. Tiger Woods and PGA Tour officials held meetings with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan in the Bahamas and later at the White House alongside US President Donald Trump to discuss potential reunification. Despite these talks, LIV Golf’s initial bids for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points were repeatedly denied or withdrawn under Norman. In January 2025, Scot O’Neil replaced Norman as LIV Golf CEO. By late 2025, LIV expanded events to a 72-format to boost its OWGR bid, while Koepka and Patrick Reed opted to leave the circuit and return to traditional tours.
Liquidation and Wind Down (2026)
LIV Golf was finally granted world ranking points by the OWGR in February 2026, though bosses criticised the allocation as unfair. Sanctions and fines continued to plague players like Rahm from the DP World Tour before he agreed to pay penalties to remain eligible for the 2027 Ryder Cup. In April 2026, the PIF confirmed it would pull its funding at the end of the year. Although CEO O’Neil stated in August that a new lead investor had been found and players would become majority equity holders, the season-ending Team Championship in Michigan was cancelled.
By September 2026, the league informed the majority of its workforce that their employment under LIV 1.0 would end and filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, listing Rahm and DeChambeau as the players still owed the most. After a representative for Rahm stated at a bankruptcy hearing that the Spaniard would not participate in a proposed relaunch called LIV 2.0, LIV Golf confirmed it would wind down operations and enter liquidation due to a lack of financial backing.
