DAILYCALLER (Alexander Pease) - LIV Golf Files For Bankruptcy In US, Two Superstars Owed Millions
CEO: ‘next era’ of LIV loading…
AXIOS (Nathan Bomey) - LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection
LIV Golf — the Saudi-backed league that upended the sport with a costly splash but failed to identify a viable business model — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. Why it matters: It's an ignominious turn of events for a brash organization that lured some of the biggest stars away from the PGA Tour with enormous paydays that proved to be unsustainable. The big picture: LIV represents a high-profile flop for its Saudi investors. - The bankruptcy filing comes after months of efforts to lure new backers and chart a new path for a league that struggled to draw significant TV ratings. Catch up quick: The Public Investment Fund — Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund — confirmed in April that it was withdrawing…
AXIOS (Dan Primack) - Scoop: How LIV Golf plans to stay alive
LIV Golf is better known for its financial banking than for its product, but now is asking investors for a chance to flip the script. Driving the news: Axios has learned that the league, which recently lost the support of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, will seek to raise up to $250 million from new investors. Catch up quick: LIV was launched in 2022 by Saudi PIF as a less stodgy rival to the PGA Tour, with which it eventually would try but fail to merge. - For Saudi PIF, a new pro golf league was either an effort at economic diversification or at sports-washing its reputation. Either way, it currently owns almost all of LIV and around 75% of each team. Behind the scenes: LIV plans to share the fundraising plan with its players,…
DAILYCALLER (Andrew Powell) - LIV Golf To Inform Players That Saudi Arabia’s PIF Is Withdrawing Funding After 2026 Season: REPORT
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chairman of the PIF and LIV Golf's chairman of the board, also resigned from his position
AXIOS (Nathan Bomey) - LIV Golf reportedly loses Saudi funding as tour's future looks murky
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund is ending funding for LIV Golf after this season, according to multiple reports. Why it matters: The Public Investment Fund's decision places the lucrative golf tour in serious jeopardy of dissolving four years after it launched as a well-capitalized competitor to the PGA Tour. Driving the news: LIV "plans to tell players and staff by Thursday" that the Public Investment Fund "will no longer bankroll the circuit after this season," WSJ first reported Wednesday . - CNBC also reported PIF is pulling LIV funding. - Representatives of PIF and LIV did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The big picture: The move has been rumored for weeks after PIF revealed a new investment strategy through 2030…
NYTIMES (Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced, Niko Gallogly, Brian O’Keefe and Ian Mount) - What LIV Golf’s Demise Means for Saudi Influence
The upstart golf circuit couldn’t conquer the sport, despite big spending by Saudi Arabia. Its end signals limits to how much the country will spend.
NYTIMES (Vivian Nereim, Lauren Hirsch and Alan Blinder) - Saudi Fund to Back Away From LIV Golf Under Mounting Financial Pressures
The Saudi league, established in 2022, attracted some of the sport’s biggest stars with huge contracts.