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Strained smiles and uncertainty - the strange end of LIV Golf 1.0
🇬🇧 United Kingdom /Sports

Strained smiles and uncertainty - the strange end of LIV Golf 1.0

From BBC News · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • LIV Golf, a Saudi-backed breakaway league, faces an uncertain future after its funding was reportedly pulled.
  • The league spent over $5 billion but struggled to gain widespread acceptance and divided loyalties within the sport.
  • Despite deep uncertainty, staff and leadership express optimism about securing a new deal for "LIV 2.0," though insiders acknowledge challenges ahead.

The ambitious LIV Golf project, launched with billions in Saudi funding, appears to be at a crossroads, with its future hanging in the balance. After more than four years of disrupting the sport and luring top players with lucrative contracts, the league's Saudi backers have reportedly withdrawn their financial support, leaving its existence in doubt. This week's season finale in Indianapolis, marked by a "strange atmosphere of surface-level optimism but deep uncertainty," could be the final event.

it's darkest before dawn

— insiderDescribing the difficult process of securing a new deal for LIV Golf.

LIV staff are reportedly putting on a brave face, organizing the tournament despite endless questions about their future. The phrase "LIV 2.0" is frequently used by leadership, representing a dream of a new chapter and a second life for the league. While there's a sense of genuine optimism that a deal can be struck, insiders acknowledge the path forward will be difficult, with one insider stating, "it's darkest before dawn."

it will get worse before it gets better

— insiderDescribing the difficult process of securing a new deal for LIV Golf.

Behind the scenes, work is said to be happening at "breakneck speed" to address player futures, organize events, and secure sponsorships. However, some players, caddies, staff, and volunteers expressed a more pessimistic outlook to BBC Sport, with one calling it the "last hurrah" and a senior media figure remarking, "We're at the hospice, not the funeral."

last hurrah

— player, caddie, staff or volunteerExpressing a pessimistic view on the future of LIV Golf.

If LIV does secure a second chapter, it will need to operate with greater financial discipline. The "free-spending" days are over, and the league is expected to have incurred several billion dollars in losses during its initial era. Sources indicate that Ted Goldthorpe, head of the credit division at investment firm BC Partners, is the prospective investor behind LIV 2.0. He has attended recent events and is reportedly "looking under the hood" of the league.

We're at the hospice, not the funeral.

— senior figure within golf's mediaDescribing the precarious state of LIV Golf.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by BBC News. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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