LIV Golf Is Hemorrhaging Money and Just Hired a Bank to Find a Way Out

LIV Golf is in trouble, and they're not hiding it anymore. The Saudi-backed league just brought in New York investment bank Ducera Partners to help find new funding sources because the cash spigot from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is about to shut off. PIF has already announced it will stop bankrolling the league at the end of the 2026 season. Translation: LIV has until then to figure out how to survive on its own.

Five Billion Dollars Down, Still Bleeding Cash

Here's the scale of this problem. PIF has poured more than $5 billion into LIV Golf since the league started in 2022, and the league has still lost millions of dollars every single year. That's a staggering burn rate for a sports venture that was supposed to disrupt professional golf and attract the world's best players with guaranteed mega-contracts. Stars like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau all left the PGA Tour for LIV's fat checks. But the business model isn't working.

LIV CEO Scott O'Neil is putting on a brave face, saying the league "has proven its value" and now needs to "build the right financial foundation for the long term." That's corporate-speak for: we need adults in the room to fix this before Saudi Arabia cuts the cord.

New Leadership and Real Numbers

The league just installed a new board led by Eugene Davis of PIRINATE Consulting Group and Jon Zinman of JZ Advisors. Their job is simple but massive: institutionalize the league, formalize its ownership structure, and figure out what's actually worth buying into here. Ducera Partners, the investment bank brought in as advisor, has $850 billion in transactions across media, entertainment, and sports. If anyone can find a lifeline, it should be them.

LIV is pointing to some bright spots. Sponsors and partnerships are up 40% per year, ticket sales have grown 130%, and broadcasts reach one million households worldwide. Those numbers look good on a slide deck, but they're not enough to cover the losses.

The clock is ticking. LIV has less than two years to convince new investors that this league is worth saving, or it's finished.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.