Golf: LIV series ceases play – return of emigrated professionals to established tours is open

The LIV golf series is discontinuing operations after almost five years. The tour, founded in 2022 with billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia, has now announced its final end.

"LIV Golf was fun, demanding, inspiring and at times challenging - but always rewarding," said LIV Managing Director Scott O'Neil. Golf stars such as Jon Rahm, Sergio García (both Spain), Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) and Tyrrell Hatton (England) had previously declared that they would not be involved in a new edition of “LIV 2.0”. The two-time German major winner Martin Kaymer, 41, also played on the LIV tour.

After the withdrawal of the new main sponsor, who was supposed to help the LIV tour out of the financial crisis, the end followed. BC Partners Credit had previously announced that it would invest up to $300 million in the revival of the tour. The LIV plans called for at least ten tournaments to be held in 2027. The rival series on the US PGA Tour and the European DP World Tour assumed that up to 30 players would have been willing to stay in the league, but after the departure of Rahm and Co. the prominent names were missing.

Many well-known golfers were poached

LIV Golf started in 2022 and attracted many well-known golfers such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson (all USA) as well as Rahm and García from the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour with sums of up to three-digit millions.

LIV Golf's crisis began in April when Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF changed its investment strategy and said it would no longer finance LIV Golf after the 2026 season. LIV Golf then filed for bankruptcy in September. The PIF is said to have supported the golf series with around five billion dollars over the years.

It remains to be seen whether the players who competed at LIV Golf will now return to the established tours - also because many professionals are critical of this. Golf star Rory McIlroy said to LIV: »They took players, they took sponsors, they turned professional golf into an arms race. They were running around telling people they wanted to destroy the European Tour.”

Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley did not accuse any player of taking the Saudi Arabian money. The problem was how some players behaved when they said goodbye: »They publicly trashed the DP World Tour. The players who stayed here have good memories. That hasn’t been forgotten.”

The Dutchman Joost Luiten sees it similarly: "Four years ago they didn't give a shit about the DP World Tour," he said. If the Tour were to bring them back now, it would be an “extremely weak decision” and unfair to the young talents who “work their asses off” through the Qualifying School to even get a chance.

PGA managed return agreement

The PGA Tour created a path back from LIV Golf in January with the “Returning Member Program,” but this comes with high requirements. The American Brooks Koepka used it, but had to donate five million dollars to charity, was excluded from the tour's equity program for five years and has to accept restrictions on sponsor invitations.

Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith turned down this deal with the PGA. Tour boss Brian Rolapp made it clear that it was probably a one-time concession: "Once the door is closed, there is no promise that this path will be open again."