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LIV Golf could live to see another day.
There is renewed optimism that LIV Golf 2.0 could get off the ground after the Financial Times reported around 15 golfers have “tentatively committed” to playing the circuit, which has given the private equity-backed LIV Golf successor enough encouragement to seek an official deal in the coming days.
The identity of the players is not known, but BC Partners, the private capital firm that will invest $300 million into LIV 2.0, set Sunday as the deadline for player commitments to the new iteration of the rebel golf league.
An extension is likely to be given for player commitments, according to the report.
A group of players, led by Dustin Johnson, is seeking a severance payout from the Saudi Public Investment Fund and is tying participation in LIV 2.0 to receiving the payouts.
An Oct. 30 deadline has been set for a deal for LIV 2.0, or the PIF will begin to wind down league operations.
Up until this point, only Richard Bland, Cameron Tringale, Brendan Steele and Ben Campbell have publicly committed to joining LIV 2.0, while big names such as Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have said that they would no longer be playing on the LIV circuit.
BC Partners is looking for 30 to 40 player commitments to get the new LIV off the ground, and it wants to see LIV as a 17-event global team golf circuit.
LIV CEO Scott O’Neil had gone out in search of new investors after the Saudi PIF pulled its financial backing of the league, which it has reportedly sunk $5.5 billion into since 2021.
The new plan is to have players own a piece of the league, and FT reported that players have been asking for an explanation of the power they would have in the new LIV Golf and their governance rights, how the league will make money and possible risks and rewards.
BC Partners is also looking into a $5 billion tax-loss asset LIV accrued, which would allow it to make future corporate acquisitions.
The PIF is the sole lender to LIV and controls the bankruptcy process it is currently in.
