Massive layoffs and dwindling Saudi funding leave the breakaway circuit scrambling for new investors, forcing leadership to weigh drastic financial measures to keep the league afloat.
LIV Golf's first era was built with billions of dollars in backing from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
Its second era — assuming there is one — is going to look much different.
LIV informed employees Wednesday that it is scaling back operations and terminating a significant number of positions as it attempts to transition into what the league has dubbed "LIV 2.0," ESPN reported.
Reuters reported that the cuts will affect a majority of LIV's more than 300 global employees, with their employment expected to end in the first week of September.
"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 spokesperson said.
PIF poured more than $5 billion into LIV since the breakaway circuit launched in 2022 before deciding in April that it would end its financial backing following the 2026 season.
That season ended over the weekend in Indianapolis, one week earlier than originally planned after LIV canceled its Team Championship in Michigan.
Now comes the hard part.
LIV CEO Scott O'Neil is attempting to finalize a deal with a new lead investor to fund the league's next iteration. LIV announced earlier this month that an agreement had been signed by the prospective investor and approved by its board, although the league has not publicly disclosed the investor's identity or financial terms.
The agreement is a non-binding term sheet and has not been finalized.
The prospective lead investor has been identified in multiple reports as Ted Goldthorpe of investment firm BC Partners.
ESPN reported that the proposed investment is worth $250 million, though LIV has not publicly disclosed the financial terms of the agreement.
And until that transaction is completed, LIV's future remains uncertain.
O'Neil has even declined to rule out bankruptcy.
"I don't think we would rule out any option. I mean, the whole focus is on transaction, transaction, transaction," O'Neil said.
That transaction would help fund a significantly leaner version of LIV.
The league is focused on a 10-event schedule featuring five "team majors" around the globe and five signature events, including a number in the United States. LIV has also said its new model would give players the opportunity to become majority equity holders of the league.
It's quite the transition for a league that spent its first five seasons trying to disrupt professional golf with enormous purses, lucrative player contracts and billions of dollars in PIF backing.
That backing is reaching its conclusion.
LIV 2.0 now depends on whether O'Neil and the league can replace it.
"We're spending all our time thinking about how we best land this plane and have it landed so we can take off again," O'Neil said. "All our focus is in that direction."
