New York (AFP) - The rebel LIV Golf tour will shut down after five years that rocked the global game, saying Thursday that an effort to relaunch after losing its original Saudi backers has been scrapped.

The announcement follows reports that BC Partners Credit, the lead investor in “LIV 2.0,” had withdrawn from the project after struggling to convince star players to fully commit to the league.

In a statement, LIV Golf said only that attempts to implement its “Restructuring Support Agreement” (RSA) with BC Partners had foundered.

“Despite extensive discussions, the relevant parties were ultimately unable to reach a consensual resolution of certain outstanding terms of the Transaction contemplated by the RSA,” LIV Golf said. “In light of the current circumstances, we believe shifting toward an orderly wind-down is the most responsible path forward for the League at this time.”

The statement confirmed LIV attorney Matthew Williams’s statements in a 13-minute hearing in bankruptcy court in New Jersey on Thursday.

The once free-spending Saudi-backed league, which turned the golf world upside-down by luring superstars away from the traditional PGA Tour with guaranteed contracts and monster purses, will begin liquidating its remaining assets on Monday, the court heard.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) had poured an estimated $5 billion (4.5 bn euros) into the tour since 2022, before abruptly pulling the plug earlier this year.

LIV formally filed for bankruptcy protection in September, though officials hoped to relaunch as “LIV 2.0” next season with a shorter schedule and reduced prize money, and equity stakes in the league for players.

BC Partners Credit pledged an initial funding commitment of a potential $300 million.

But several former LIV stars including Jon Rahm announced their decisions to withdraw from the revamped tour, and several others were believed to be on the fence.

Bryson DeChambeau – arguably the breakaway circuit’s biggest name and a continuing backer of the tour – did not publicly commit to returning.

Documents from bankruptcy filings showed that LIV owes between $500 million and $1 billion to at least 1,000 creditors, including star players.

“BC Partners supported a transaction that aligned the interests of players and investors, offering a credible path toward building a sustainable future for LIV Golf,” BC Partners Credit said in a statement.

“While there was great support for the league, we are disappointed that mutually acceptable terms could not be reached among the various stakeholders.

“We commend LIV Golf’s management for their tireless efforts and thank the players who supported the future of LIV and engaged constructively throughout.”

- ‘Round of a lifetime’ -

LIV Golf said it would consider “any value-maximizing alternatives with third parties that may arise as the company is wound up.

“Building a global platform designed to bring new, younger, and more diverse fans to the sport of golf has been the round of a lifetime for all of us,” LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil said in a statement. “LIV Golf was fun, demanding, inspiring, at times challenging — but always rewarding.”

O’Neil touted LIV’s achievements in delivering “world-class individual and team competitions across five continents.”

The league’s three-day, 54-hole tournaments, with non-traditional shotgun starts and accompanying concerts, drew new fans but never mustered the kind of television audience enjoyed by the PGA Tour.

It did, however, require a response from the established tours that has included increased purses and will see the US PGA Tour institute a streamlined competitive structure in 2028.

Peter Malnati, a 39-year-old journeyman who has served on the PGA Tour player advisory board, said that to him it always seemed that LIV “wasn’t a viable economic model.”

“If their goal was to truly be additive to the golf space, they went about it in a strange way,” he said after his round at the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico.

“If their goal was to be disruptive, they did a heck of a job,” he said. “The PGA Tour emerged from what was truly an existential battle in a position where I think we are stronger now than we were before LIV came around.”