After five years in operation, LIV Golf has announced that it will draw to a close.
This comes due to a lack of financial and player support.
This was confirmed on Thursday at a bankruptcy hearing, which took place in New Jersey.
At the hearing, LIV attorney Matthew Williams stated that “we believe the wind-down path is the best path”.
LIV Golf hoped to revamp as LIV 2.0 for the 2027 season.
Here, Sports News Blitz’s golf writer Jay Kennedy goes through what led to the end of LIV Golf, and what this now means.
Financial fiascoes
The signs were there that LIV Golf was inevitably braced for disaster.
Back in April, the Saudi Public Investment Fund withdrew their investment, due to other financial priorities.
In September, LIV was dealt another blow, after it declared Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the States.
This meant that various creditors, including numerous players, were owed money.
Short-lived hope
However, the tour was given an initial boost weeks after the bankruptcy declaration.
LIV announced a $300m financial investment from British private debt firm, BC Partners Credit.
Unfortunately, this investment was later pulled due to the lack of player signups.
Exit after exit
The lack of signups prompted many big names to bid farewell to the tour.
Spaniard Jon Rahm was undoubtedly the biggest name to recently depart.
His fellow patriots David Puig and Sergio Garcia followed suit soon after.
Additional recent exits included Tyrell Hatton, Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen, Lucas Herbert, Tom McKibbin, and Graeme McDowell.
Loyal to LIV
Before the shutdown, only a small number of players publicly announced their intention to play under the LIV 2.0 regime.
Englishman Richard Bland was the very first name to announce his commitment.
Americans Brendan Steele and Cameron Tringale later signed on, as well as New Zealand’s Ben Campbell.
What happens now?
It appears that the DP World Tour will be the next step for the majority of the departed players.
Golfers such as Rahm and Hatton have stated their planned desire to play on the DP World Tour in 2027, as a potential pathway back onto the PGA Tour.
The small plethora of players that signed on with LIV 2.0 will be banned from the 2027 DP World Tour.
Furthermore, the ever-popular Bryson DeChambeau has reportedly been offered a pathway back onto tour, despite his recent support for the LIV 2.0 regime.
Final thoughts
For many golf fans, the end of LIV Golf will be phenomenal news, as many saw the tour as a complete opposite to the traditional, core values of the game.
2027 will undoubtedly be very fun, with more big names back on the scene.
It looks extremely hopeful that the PGA Tour will be full of more star power again later down the line.
It will be interesting to see if something like this ever happens again.
READ MORE FROM JAY KENNEDY: Golf news: TMRW Golf League (TGL) openers announced ahead of 2027 season
