The biggest news in the golf world this week came off the course. According to Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press on Wednesday, the controversial LIV Tour declared bankruptcy. What is surprising in all of this is the fact that the LIV Tour lasted four years before bankruptcy was officially declared.
The LIV Tour had a very questionable financial plan from the start. Golfers were guaranteed appearance fees, and promised an exorbitant amount of money to leave the PGA Tour. In 2025, there were five golfers making a minimum of $125 million. They were Spain’s Jon Rahm ($300 million), and Americans Phil Mickelson ($200 million), Brooks Koepka ($130 million), Dustin Johnson ($125 million), and Bryson DeChambeau ($125 million). The aforementioned golfers were all multiple major champions and won a combined 17 major titles.
In recent months the future of the LIV Tour became uncertain to say the least when it was announced that the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund would no longer support the organization. The new LIV Tour Commissioner Scott O’Neil had the challenging task of trying to find financial investors to salvage the 2026 golf season.
One must realize that even though the LIV Tour was extremely mismanaged, the tour has not folded and plans to have a smaller version in 2027. Don’t be surprised if the tour returns to its roots and has 54 hole tournaments instead of 72. Remember, the reason why the tour was called LIV (roman numeral for 54) to begin with is because events only had 54 holes. It would also make sense that the LIV Tour would continue to play in Adelaide, where they have had immense success.
