LIV Golf has been in a very precarious position for some time now. Despite being known across the world as the rebellious league, it has yet to earn a profit. This has led to the PIF setting goals for the league in hopes of turning a profit earlier this year. However, the numbers are in for 2024, and LIV Golf Ltd alone has lost 461.8 million ($590.1 million).
LIV Golf’s Money Troubles
LIV Golf has always struggled with money. This young league is only a few years old, yet it has always put a lot of resources into presentation. Pyrotechnics, concerts, and buying off some of the most famous courses in the world, it all adds up. That’s not to mention the original contracts for the star players. Any money that has been invested into the league has been done by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the money they have invested is in the billions at this point. There has been one good day reported this year for attendance, yet the tickets were subject to giveaways, which means that attendance didn’t bring in much revenue for the tournament.
LIV Golf Ltd
LIV Golf Ltd is a UK-based branch of the league. It handles everything outside of the US and has always been on the lighter side of spending. However, in 2024 alone, the losses as reported by the New York Times have reached 461.8m. This brings the total losses for the branch to 1.1 billion dollars. This does mean that a majority of spending for LIV Golf is within the US. Earlier this LIV Golf was revealed to have lost nearly $5 billion since its inception. Only a fraction of that has been the prize money that has gone to the players. As things stand now, the losses have only piled up, and the PIF is getting impatient.
The Cost Of Golf
Starting a brand new, professional-level league has some obvious roadblocks. Golf has always been an expensive sport for the players alone; the clubs the pros use regularly go for hundreds of dollars. Then there’s the cost of the courses, maintaining the fields and bunkers. The clubhouses are already expected to be high-class and feel like resorts. Some of the courses LIV has been buying up are historical, too, and the league is still looking to acquire even more courses.
Leagues like the PGA Tour have massive advantages over LIV Golf, and that’s because it has been long established and has dominated two whole continents. The DP World Tour works on the oldest courses in the world and leans into that history, especially in the UK. LIV Golf has investors with deep pockets, but those investors want to see a profit; that’s the whole reason why they invested in the first place. So far, the only thing LIV Golf has disrupted is its players’ bank accounts. Financially speaking, LIV Golf has been in the red since day one. If the investors decide that it’s time to cash out, that is it for the league.
Main Photo Credit: © Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
