LIV Golf future in doubt as premier says Australia event likely cancelled

A reboot of rebel men's golf league, LIV Golf, appears to be in doubt after reports BC Partners is pulling its financial backing.

The league lost its financial backing from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, and was in need of a new backer.

The future of the league, which held a tournament in Adelaide, is now in serious doubt.

The future of LIV Golf appears to be in serious doubt after reports that BC Partners, which provides financing to middle-market companies, is dropping its bid to relaunch the league.

The Financial Times reported that the private capital firm withdrew its support due to an inability to secure enough player commitments.

The professional men's golf league, a competitor to the PGA Tour, filed for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey in September as part of a restructuring after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has invested more than $US5 ⁠billion ($7 billion) in LIV since its launch in 2022, announced it was ending its financial backing after the 2026 season.

BC Partners's decision came as a deadline loomed to show there was enough player support to hold a tournament series in 2027, the FT said, citing people directly familiar with the matter.

The firm and LIV Golf did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

LIV has held four annual tournaments in Adelaide, starting in 2023, and was supposed to host an event next March at the Kooyonga Golf Club.

However, South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas told ABC Radio Adelaide this morning that media reporting suggests LIV's future, in his state at least, is over.

"I haven't had any official confirmation from LIV themselves, but I saw a report this morning, and it feels like it's game, set and match as far as I can tell," he said.

"That's because BC Partners, that is the funders of LIV 2.0, I guess, have arrived at the same conclusion that we were, like, if you don't get the players to sign up, then it doesn't go ahead.

"As the state government, we've made clear to LIV that we're not going to be paying for an event that doesn't represent the calibre of what we've had in the past, and if the players aren't up for it, then it doesn't go ahead, and it looks like that's been the case with BC Capital Partners as well.

"The contractual arrangements between the state and LIV don't come into effect because we only pay them when we put on an event, so we don't pay for anything we don't get.

"In terms of other arrangements, we'll have to take advice on that in regard to others, but clearly the event as far as we can tell won't be going ahead at Kooyonga next year."

Former world number one Jon Rahm is among a wave of high-profile golfers who have left LIV Golf since it filed for bankruptcy protection.

LIV is expected to appear at a hearing on Thursday, local time, in US bankruptcy court in Trenton, New Jersey, to discuss various contracts, leases and assets. It is unclear whether LIV's ultimate fate may also be discussed.

In October, BC Partners made an initial investment in LIV Golf, providing up to $300 million in financing to help the league emerge from restructuring and strengthen its finances ahead of the 2027 season.

LIV Golf lured leading players from the PGA Tour, including Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, with lucrative contracts.

DeChambeau, one of the biggest names on LIV's player roster, recently said the league's business model for the proposed 2.0 era "makes a lot of sense" and that he hoped that it would last "forever".

Others have been critical of LIV Golf, with DP ‌World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings saying LIV sought to undermine the European circuit.

"They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race," Rory McIlroy told reporters earlier on Wednesday ahead of the Abu Dhabi Championship.