LIV Golf to lay off majority of staff

LIV Golf will lay off the majority of its staff next week under drastic reforms intended to keep the breakaway tour afloat next year, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The layoffs come after LIV Golf lost the deep-pocketed Saudi investors that had spent a reported $5 billion over several years to lure many top stars from golf's PGA Tour.

That funding from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) came to an abrupt end following last weekend's Indianapolis LIV season finale event.

While LIV officials say a "2.0" version of the tour will re-emerge under new investors next season, with a shorter schedule and reduced prize money, that remains deeply uncertain.

"The funding commitment announced by PIF earlier this year will reach its conclusion. As a result, we are scaling back operations as we transition to the next chapter of LIV Golf and work toward making LIV 2.0 a reality," said the LIV spokeswoman, in a statement.

"This week, we informed many of our colleagues that their employment under LIV 1.0 will end in the first week of September.

"We are grateful to our employees for their hard work and dedication in building LIV Golf, and we remain committed to supporting those affected through this transition."

LIV currently has an agreement in place with a unnamed prospective new lead investor, and is offering players significant equity stakes in the tour.

It is also seeking further minority investors, with the goal of sealing a new structure by the end of next month.

A limited number of staff will be retained next month, while LIV hopes to bring back many employees at a later date if the transaction is sealed, a source familiar with the matter told AFP.

But the future of the tour will depend on its ability to retain big-draw players.

The current LIV roster includes Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, none of whom have publicly committed to staying.

Widespread reports have linked several LIV stars with potential returns to the PGA Tour and other series, though the PGA this week said it currently has no plans to offer LIV players a pathway back.

Speaking at LIV's season-ending Indianapolis event Sunday, DeChambeau said he was "proud" of what the tour has achieved, and said he had "great thoughts about what could happen next year".

But on Monday he published an enigmatic post on Instagram -- photos of several LIV victories, with the caption "It was a good run".