Saudi-backed LIV Golf has paid huge sums to lure top PGA Tour stars in the past few years, but that’s only part of the tour’s expenses, and an industry analyst said this week “the losses being incurred by LIV are piling up at a staggering rate.”
GolfWeek pointed to a report by Money In Sport, which examined financial filings for 2023 filed this week by LIV Golf’s UK group, which operates all LIV operations outside the U.S. On the positive side, tournament revenue was up from $4.9 million in 2022 (LIV’s debut year) to $37.1 million.
On the downside, launching a new tour brings considerable expenses, beyond those enormous player contracts that enticed stars such as Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm to join the upstart circuit. For example, Money in Sport cited LIV Golf UK’s legal fees at $15.7 million, noting they were almost as high as the PGA Tour’s legal expenses ($18.7 million).
“It’s reasonable to conclude that LIV’s total legal fees are significantly higher than the fees incurred by PGA Tour,” Money in Sport wrote.
Operating losses for LIV Golf UK grew from $244 million to $394 million in 2023, prompting Money In Sport to write financial losses are “piling up at a staggering rate, necessitating regular injections of new capital by the Saudi PIF.”
The Saudi Public Investment Fund, which is backing LIV Golf, continues to invest in the venture.
“PIF’s investment in LIV Golf could approach $5 billion by the end of this year, with further big bills on the horizon if they want to retain the top golfers as their contracts expire,” Money in Sport wrote.
GolfWeek speculated such financial losses could provide an incentive for LIV Golf in escalating merger talks with the PGA Tour.