LIV Golf reportedly informed the majority of its staff that their jobs had been terminated on Wednesday amid the increasingly uncertainty shrouding the embattled tour’s future.
The circuit is battling for financial survival after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced it would stop funding beyond the 2026 season.
Its 2026 season came to an end at the weekend with its Indianapolis. The conclusion of the season came a week earlier than scheduled after LIV canceled its season finale – the team championship in Michigan – which had been slated for this week.
Now, just days later, the tour has laid off the majority of its staff, according to a report from Golf Digest.
The terminations were not a surprise with the tour’s chiefs reportedly informing employees in July that layoffs would be coming in the following months.
The specific number of employees impacted by the layoffs is currently unknown or in which departments they work. LIV is believed to have a workforce of around 300 staff members.
LIV Golf reportedly informed the majority of its staff that their jobs had been terminated
The circuit is battling for survival after Saudi Arabia’s PIF announced it would stop funding
‘The funding commitment announced by PIF earlier this year will reach its conclusion,’ a LIV spokesperson told Golf Digest. ‘As a result, we are scaling back operations as we transition to the next chapter of LIV Golf and work toward making LIV 2.0 a reality.
‘This week, we informed many of our colleagues that their employment under LIV 1.0 will end in the first week of September. We are grateful to our employees for their hard work and dedication in building LIV Golf, and we remain committed to supporting those affected through this transition.’
The rebel golf circuit, which launched in 2022 with the financial backing of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, paid nine-figure bonuses to lure top players like Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm away from the PGA Tour, offering $20m prize funds.
But it all began to fall apart earlier this year when PIF said it would no longer fund it after the 2026 season. One event in New Orleans already was scrapped.
Scott O’Neil, the chief executive of LIV, revealed last week that an investor had been lined up to fund the league’s operations in 2027.
‘LIV Golf has an agreement in place with a lead investor, signed by the investor and approved by the Board, to anchor the transaction and play a key role in supporting the path forward for the League’s next era, driven by and for the players,’ he said.
‘We’re also seeing strong interest from more than a dozen additional parties to potentially serve as minority investors, creating a multi-partner model built for long-term stability and growth.
‘Notably, our next chapter will make our players the majority equity holders in LIV Golf, a first for a major global sports league, and gives the League the foundation to keep growing the game worldwide.’
Bryson DeChambeau is pictured at LIV’s final event of the season in Indianapolis last weekend
However, the identity of said investor has not been yet been officially confirmed.
Golf Digest reports that BC Partners, a private equity firm based in London that has ties to GSE Worldwide – the agency that represents a sizable portion of LIV’s roster – is believed to be the investor.
The plan for what is being referred to as ‘LIV Golf 2.0’ is for 10 team events each year, five of them in the United States and five others around the world.
It also wants to stage events leading into the majors and having a schedule that allows its players to compete on other circuits. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton already play on the European tour. The PGA Tour still has a one-year ban for anyone competing on LIV.
