LIV Golf to lay off most staff after PIF ends funding as CEO seeks new investor
LIV Golf told the majority of its workforce on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, that they will be laid off in the first week of September, three days after the 2026 season concluded in Indianapolis. The announcement follows Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund ending its financial support after spending more than $5bn over the past five years, and chief executive Scott O’Neil has said the organisation faces "a very compressed timeline" to secure a new lead investor whose deal will require player buy-in.
Wednesday’s notification to staff was not unexpected after the tour had earlier warned workers in the US and the UK of potential layoffs. The league’s season-ending team championship in Michigan was cancelled, the purse for the Indianapolis event was slashed nearly in half, and multiple vendors remain unpaid amid reports the organisation could face bankruptcy. Those operational and financial strains have coincided with the PIF funding commitment reaching its conclusion.
A LIV Golf spokesperson said in a statement: "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. 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 is working to finalise a deal with a new lead investor to underwrite a re-imagined LIV 2.0, and the league has said such an agreement will require buy-in from a majority of the current player roster. Ted Goldthorpe, the head of the 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.
On the league’s immediate priorities, O’Neil said: "The whole focus is on transaction, transaction, transaction," and added, "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 chief executive in early 2025, has also vowed to "do right by" vendors and contractors that have sued the league for missed payments.
The plan for LIV 2.0 as described by the league includes 10 events for the 2027 season, including five in the US and five in international markets. O’Neil has reportedly been seeking an investment between $250m and $350m, with a goal of reaching profitability after three years.
Layoffs are set to take effect in the first week of September while O’Neil pursues the reported investor and the unspecified deadline to secure player support remains in place as the next critical milestone for the proposed transaction.