The LIV Golf timeline reaches a decisive endpoint in November 2026, when the Saudi-backed circuit confirmed it would wind down operations and enter liquidation rather than launch a planned second iteration. The announcement closed a five-year chapter that reshaped the professional men’s game, triggered legal battles and divided players, tours and fans.
Launch and early disruption
LIV Golf Investments was unveiled in October 2021, with two-time Open champion Greg Norman named founding chief executive. By March 2022, the league had confirmed an eight-event LIV Invitational Series beginning June 9, carrying a total prize fund of $255 million.
The first event, in London, drew former Masters champions Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia. Phil Mickelson, whose February 2022 comments about the PGA Tour’s approach to media rights had intensified debate, committed to the opener, which Charl Schwartzel won. The PGA Tour responded by suspending players in the London field indefinitely, and Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka signed on before the second tournament.
The DP World Tour fined LIV participants 100,000 pounds for playing in London, while LIV applied for Official World Golf Ranking points for its players. Henrik Stenson joined in July 2022 and was removed as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain for 2023.
Legal fights and major breakthroughs
In August 2022, eleven LIV players, including Mickelson, Ian Poulter and Johnson, filed an antitrust suit against the PGA Tour; LIV later joined the case. Cameron Smith, fresh from winning The Open at St Andrews, became the latest arrival. The PGA Tour then filed a federal lawsuit against Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
Augusta National confirmed in December 2022 that eligible LIV golfers could play the Masters. On the course, Koepka became the first LIV player to win a major, taking the 2023 PGA Championship. DeChambeau followed at the 2024 US Open after Rory McIlroy’s late collapse at Pinehurst No. 2.
The framework agreement and ranking battles
In June 2023, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF announced a framework agreement, ending pending lawsuits and pledging cooperation to unify the game. McIlroy said he felt like a sacrificial lamb, and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan faced calls to resign.
LIV lost its initial bid for world ranking points in October 2023 and withdrew its application in March 2024. The league revived the push in July 2025, expanding from 54-hole to 72-hole events, a shift McIlroy called peculiar. In February 2026, the OWGR granted points, but LIV criticized the allocation, which covered only the top 10 and ties, as unfair.
Player movement and financial strain
Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion, joined in December 2023 in a deal reportedly worth up to $607.7 million. Tyrrell Hatton followed in January 2024 for a reported $60 million. Anthony Kim ended a 12-year absence from professional golf by joining in February 2024.
Norman was replaced as CEO by Scot O’Neil in January 2025. Koepka left in December 2025, citing personal reasons, and returned to the PGA Tour through its Returning Member Program, which required a $5 million charitable donation. Patrick Reed departed in January 2026 and returned to the DP World Tour.
In April 2026, the PIF confirmed it would stop funding LIV at the end of the year, though the league remained financed through the season. LIV said it was seeking outside investors. DeChambeau said players were surprised by the decision.
Collapse into liquidation
O’Neil said in August 2026 that a new lead investor had been found but gave no details, and the league said players would become majority equity holders. The season-ending Team Championship in Michigan was canceled, ending the campaign a week early in Indianapolis.
In September 2026, LIV told most of its workforce that jobs under LIV 1.0 would end, and the league filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States while still intending to launch LIV 2.0 in 2027. Rahm and DeChambeau were listed as the players owed the most. A representative for Rahm later told a bankruptcy hearing that he did not plan to take part in LIV 2.0, calling the relaunch terms unacceptable.
With financial support absent, LIV confirmed in November 2026 that it would not proceed with a new version and would instead enter liquidation.
