LIV Golf lays off majority of staff amid uncertain future

LIV Golf informed the majority of its workforce on Wednesday that they will be laid off in the first week of September.

The news comes three days after the 2026 season concluded in Indianapolis and four months after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund announced it was ending its financial support of the league after spending more than $5 billion over the past five years.

Wednesday's announcement to staff was not unexpected after the tour notified workers in the United States and the United Kingdom of potential layoffs.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil is working to finalize a deal with a new lead investor to fund a re-imagined LIV 2.0. However, the league faces an uncertain future, with the season-ending team championship in Michigan canceled, the purse for the Indianapolis event slashed nearly in half, multiple vendors still awaiting payments and the potential for bankruptcy looming.

"The funding commitment announced by PIF earlier this year will reach its conclusion. As a result, we are scaling back operations as we transition to the next chapter of LIV Golf and work toward making LIV 2.0 a reality," a LIV Golf spokesman said in a statement. "This week, we informed many of our colleagues that their employment under LIV 1.0 will end in the first week of September.

"We are grateful to our employees for their hard work and dedication in building LIV Golf, and we remain committed to supporting those affected through this transition."

O'Neil acknowledged last week that LIV Golf has "a very compressed timeline" to finalize a deal with a new lead investor, and such an agreement will require buy-in from a majority of the current player roster.

Ted Goldthorpe, the head of investment firm BC Partners, is reported to be the new lead investor who has agreed to a term sheet with LIV. O'Neil said there is a deadline to get players on board with the deal, without elaborating on when or what type of deadline that is.

"The whole focus is on transaction, transaction, transaction," he said. "We're spending all our time thinking about how we best land this plane and have it landed so we can take off again. All our focus is in that direction."

O'Neil, who replaced Greg Norman as LIV's CEO in early 2025, vowed to "do right by" vendors and contractors that have sued the league for missed payments.

The vision for LIV 2.0 includes 10 events for the 2027 season, including five in the United States and five in international markets. O'Neil reportedly has been seeking an investment between $250 million and $350 million, with a goal of reaching profitability after three years.

--Field Level Media