Saudi-backed LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection

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 support for the league after the 2026 season.

• PIF — which ultimately plunged more than $5 billion into LIV, according to Money in Sport — decided to ditch LIV after President Trump's war in Iran scrambled geopolitics in the Middle East and jolted energy prices.
• The fund said in a statement that the "substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF's investment strategy."

Between the lines: LIV said Tuesday that it had secured a restructuring support agreement from an arm of BC Partners to reorganize operations and emerge "majority owned by players."

• The bankruptcy could lead to the severing of key contracts, including with star players like Jon Rahm, whose defection to LIV was considered a significant loss for the PGA Tour.
• It could also serve as a major turning point in the career of superstar Bryson DeChambeau, one of the initial players to leave the PGA for LIV.
• PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has made it clear that any players who want to return will need to earn their way back, calling the tour a meritocracy by its nature.
• LIV said Tuesday that it "remains in advanced discussions with" the players.

Friction point: Critics of LIV and the players who joined it said the league amounted to "sportswashing" as the Saudis sought to redirect attention from human rights abuses.

• Defenders — including LIV member and former PGA superstar Phil Mickelson — said the league would help grow the game on a global scale.