LIV Golf seeks new investors, plans leaner schedule and player equity

LIV Golf is hunting for up to $350 million in fresh investment as it prepares a leaner version of itself, a stark signal that the league wants to be judged as a business, not just a bankroll-backed disruption. The tour is also weighing a move from a 14-event calendar to 10 events and is considering giving players equity stakes, a shift that would tie compensation more closely to the league’s long-term value.

The fundraising push comes as LIV tries to widen its base beyond Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has already spent more than $5 billion on the league since it launched in 2022. The fund said investing in LIV no longer fit its strategy, leaving the circuit with a pressing need to replace the capital that underwrote its biggest purses and its rapid expansion. LIV has been presenting the financing framework to potential backers through Ducera Partners, and players have already been briefed on the plan, with some responding positively.

The new pitch reflects how much LIV’s model has depended on guaranteed money and headline names. Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed were among the stars it pulled from the PGA Tour, creating instant visibility but also a costly structure. A shorter schedule and player ownership would mark an attempt to turn that star power into something more durable, while reducing the expense of staging a sprawling global circuit.

LIV’s restructuring has also been moving on the governance side. The league announced an independent board and a more diversified, multi-partner investment model as it looked for long-term financial partners to support a transition beyond its foundational launch phase. Gene Davis and Jon Zinman were named to lead the new board, while Yasir Al-Rumayyan, one of the league’s most important backers and its board chairman, was reported to be stepping down from that role.

The scale of the proposed reset is clear in LIV’s 2026 schedule, which still lists 14 events in Riyadh, Adelaide, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Mexico City, Virginia, Korea, Andalucía, Louisiana, the United Kingdom, New York, Indianapolis and Michigan. Dropping to 10 tournaments would cut both travel and operating costs, but it would also shrink the league’s footprint at a moment when it is trying to prove it can draw audiences, sponsorships and television value without Saudi Arabia carrying the load. For LIV, the next capital raise is no longer just about growth. It is a test of whether the tour can survive as a self-sustaining property.