LIV Golf's relaunch falls apart following the withdrawal of its main investor

Plans to relaunch the LIV Golf following its bankruptcy filing suffered a major setback with the withdrawal of its new lead investor, BC Partners, several media outlets reported on Wednesday.

The private equity firm made this decision in light of difficulties in convincing several stars to fully commit to the project, according to the Financial Times and The Athletic, which cited anonymous sources.

The tour had lost the Saudi funding that allowed it to recruit top PGA stars and is now expected to liquidate its remaining assets.

LIV Golf did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

Earlier this year, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) abruptly cut off an investment stream in the tour estimated at about $5 billion starting in 2022.

In September, LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy protection at the same time that its executives pledged to relaunch the competition next season—a "LIV 2.0"—with a shorter schedule, reduced prize pools, and equity stakes in the league for the players.

To that end, its new lead investor, BC Partners Credit, was expected to provide initial funding of up to $300 million.

In recent weeks, however, some of the biggest names on the breakaway tour, such as Spain's Jon Rahm, have publicly announced their desire to withdraw from it.

The American Bryson DeChambeau, the other big name remaining with LIV Golf, has also not publicly committed to staying.

The LIV Golf project became even more complicated after the European Tour DP World Tour revoked its permission for golfers to compete in both tours, forcing players like Rahm to choose one or the other.

"I have a duty to 'protect the tour from an entity that has, we are told, spent more than $7 billion, one of its objectives being to destroy the DP World Tour,'" said European Tour CEO Guy Kinnings on Tuesday to The Scotsman.

According to documents from its bankruptcy filing, LIV Golf owed between $500 million and $1 billion in estimated liabilities to at least 1,000 creditors, including Rahm and DeChambeau themselves.