Since LIV Golf arrived on the scene in 2022, there has been a chasm in professional golf between LIV and the PGA Tour.
Many big-name golfers left the PGA Tour to join LIV in 2022, creating two paths in professional golf. Those moves led to changes along the PGA Tour, allowing the league to stabilize and create better relationships with its players.
Now, that is all coming to an end. LIV Golf announced in bankruptcy court on Thursday its intention to wind down, officially bringing LIV Golf to a close.
It’s official: LIV is dead. In New Jersey Bankruptcy Court, LIV lawyers confirmed the company will be winding down. @TheAthletic
— Gabby Herzig (@GabbyHerzig) November 5, 2026
The journey to the end of LIV Golf was long and full of legal bumps in the road, but LIV never gained the traction it wanted from the start. With LIV Golf on the way out, here’s a look at the timeline of the alternate tour.
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LIV Golf timeline
October 2021: LIV Golf solidifies plans to create a new golf venture, naming former professional golfer Greg Norman as CEO. Initially, the plan was for a 10-event partnership with the Asian Tour, with Saudi Arabia’s The Public Investment Fund financing the experiment. The idea comes with scrutiny, considering Saudi Arabia’s involvement.
March, 2022: LIV Golf announces a $255 million invitational series consisting of eight tournaments separate from the Asian Tour. Norman sends a letter to PGA Tour players as recruitment, while PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan says any player who defects would lose their Tour card.
June, 2022: LIV Golf begins with its first event in London on June 9. The new tour includes many big-name golfers, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Bryson DeChambeau, as the new league builds out a roster of 48 golfers.
Leading into the event, the PGA Tour denied its golfers the right to compete for the rival tour. Therefore, any golfer who played in the LIV London event was immediately suspended by the PGA Tour.
Brooks Koepka joins the tour at the end of the month as well.
July, 2022: LIV Golf applies for Official World Golf Ranking points.
August, 2022: Eleven LIV golfers, led by Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, file an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour. Three other golfers also sought a temporary restraining order to compete in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs, but those requests were denied.
Ahead of the TOUR Championship, Jay Monahan announces the PGA Tour’s plans to restructure the schedule while increasing the payouts at several tournaments. Finally, reigning Cameron Smith joins LIV Golf after winning the British Open just a month prior, as he led a new set of defectors
January, 2023: LIV Golf announces its schedule for 2023 will feature 14 events, all of which will air on the CW.
May 2023: Brooks Koepka wins PGA Championship, becomes the first active LIV golfer to win a major.
June, 2023: PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund announce agreement to form one world golf league and end litigation.
October, 2023: The OWGR rejects LIV’s application for world ranking points, delivering a blow to the league’s legitimacy.
November, 2023: The potential merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf stalls, which changes the direction of both leagues.
December, 2023: Nine months after winning the Masters, Jon Rahm becomes the latest big name to join LIV. Rahm was initially outspoken against LIV Golf but was eventually sold on the international and innovation aspects of the new tour.
March, 2024: LIV Golf signs Anthony Kim, who hasn’t played golf since 2012, as a wild card to compete. Additionally, Norman announces LIV has withdrawn its application for OWGR points.
June, 2024: Bryson DeChambeau wins the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, out-dueling Rory McIlroy.
January, 2025: LIV Golf fires Greg Norman as CEO, replacing him with Scott O’Neill. LIV also signs a new TV deal with Fox Sports.
February, 2025: President Donald Trump meets with PGA Tour member Adam Scott to discuss the future of golf. Trump later has a meeting at the White House with the governor of the Public Investment Fund, Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan.
June, 2025: New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp announces that negotiations for the merger between the leagues have stalled.
July, 2025: LIV Golf reapplies for OWGR points.
November, 2025: LIV Golf announces a change to 72-hole tournaments for the first time in 2026, potentially due to the tour’s chase for OWGR points.
December, 2025: Brooks Koepka announces decision to leave LIV Golf, becoming the first high-profile player to leave the tour.
January, 2026: Koepka applies for PGA Tour reinstatement, which the PGA Tour approves through the newly created Returning Member Program. This program would also allow eligibility for Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith, but neither applies before the deadline passes.
Patrick Reed also announces a decision to leave LIV Golf, as he will compete on the DP World Tour in 2026 with an eye on returning to the PGA Tour in 2027.
February, 2026: For the first time, the OWGR will allow LIV Golf players to accumulate ranking points in LIV tournaments.
April, 2026: Multiple reports emerge questioning the future of LIV Golf ahead of the LIV Mexico tournament. Fox’s Brett Baier reports that PIF is pulling funding for LIV Golf at the end of the year due to a change in priorities.
CEO Scott O’Neil sends an email to players saying the 2026 season will continue as planned amid the reports. Two weeks later, the Wall Street Journal reports that LIV will, in fact, lose its funding after the 2026 season.
Additionally, LIV co-founder and PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan stepped down from the LIV board. As a result, LIV made changes to its board amid the instability.
In the process, LIV Golf continued, but its future beyond 2026 was in doubt. The league cancelled the New Orleans tournament scheduled for June, with hopes of rescheduling in the Fall.
July, 2026: LIV Golf faces multiple lawsuits, one from a group alleging the league stole its idea for an alternate team golf tour and another from a company claiming the league wasn’t following through on a TV broadcast production deal.
August, 2026: LIV Golf announces it has an investor that will help finance the league moving forward. It is later revealed that the financier is BC Partners.
Meanwhile, LIV Golf officially cancels the team championship for the 2026 season, which was supposed to be held in Michigan. After the season’s final tournament, LIV undergoes mass layoffs.
September, 2026: LIV Golf files for bankruptcy in New Jersey as part of its restructuring process, which means that its finances will later become public. The league still maintains that LIV 2.0 is happening in 2027.
On the PGA Tour, Brian Rolapp reveals that it will not provide a returning member program to any former LIV players, as it did in January.
October, 2026: Many high-profile golfers announce their intention to leave LIV ahead of the 2027 season, including Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, and Ian Poulter. Others, like Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, intend to stay on the tour, but Johnson leads a group of golfers looking to negotiate with the PIF over unpaid severance payments.
November, 2026: LIV Golf announces in New Jersey bankruptcy court that it is winding down and will cease operations. That comes after BC Partners changed course and decided to pull its funding for LIV 2.0.
“BC Partners Credit supported a transaction that aligned the interests of players and investors, offering a credible path toward building a sustainable future for LIV Golf,” BC Partners said in a statement. “While there was great support for the league, we are disappointed that mutually acceptable terms could not be reached among the various stakeholders. We commend LIV Golf’s management for their tireless efforts and thank the players who supported the future of LIV and engaged constructively throughout.”
