The Daily Drive is a reader supported newsletter. Your paid subscription can help sustain our full-time coverage of golf.
The deadline for LIV 2.0’s survival in 2027 and beyond is fast approaching (Scott Taetsch/LIV Golf)
As LIV Golf heads to another court appearance on Wednesday related to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the league’s future remains in considerable doubt as a restructuring deal that would see BC Partners invest $300 million still needs to be sorted.
The Monday news that the DP World Tour will not allow its members to compete in LIV events in 2027 came as another blow to the league, which earlier this year lost its Saudi-backed funding and is attempting to put together a LIV 2.0 with a streamlined schedule and purses.
There remains plenty of speculation as to how this will work, but the Financial Times reported that Ted Goldthorpe, the head of BC Partners, is bullish on the possibilities because he believes there is interest from other investors.
That story also reported without confirmation that LIV will have a 17-tournament schedule. CEO Scott O’Neil has been pushing a 10-event schedule with several international destinations, but clearly more events are necessary to entice players who are unlikely to have other big-tour options and need places to play.
Also in today’s DD …
Jim Furyk’s second-guessing of 2018 mistakes will fuel his 2027 captaincy
Rory McIlroy weighs in on welcoming back LIV stars and rival league’s missteps
With proposed purses between $5.5 million and $9 million, LIV Golf is touting prize funds that are more than a majority of DP World Tour events. Still, getting buy-in from players is proving difficult with an Oct. 25 deadline for player commitments looming and several already expressing their intent to leave the league.
“Our goal is to facilitate LIV Golf’s emergence from the restructuring process on sound financial footing,” Goldthorpe said recently.
A good bit of speculation for BC Partners interest in LIV centers around the company’s desire to take advantage of tax loopholes. Known as net operating losses (NOL), it would allow BC Partners to write off LIV’s past losses going forward.
A tax attorney named Robert Pike wrote a lengthy social media post entitled “Why the NOL Won’t Save LIV Golf (and Why the Players Probably Won’t Either)” on the subject in which he questioned whether or not the tax benefits are as valuable as has been reported. It’s a complicated subject and worth a read.
Pike is suggesting that unlocking NOL value is not simple. On the other side, BC Partners would know all about it as that is what it does. Certainly it has thought through a strategy to maximize these possibilities.
Meanwhile, LIV Golf is going to need players. Keeping Bryson DeChambeau — who has been very quiet of late — would obviously be an important piece as so many other players including Jon Rahm seem to be departing.
Getting players to commit, putting together a schedule, announcing whatever team format is in place, getting more investment, adding sponsors, having someone televise this ... there remains a good bit to navigate.
Furyk and Ryder Cup second-guessing
Jim Furyk is undoubtedly going to use his experience as a Ryder Cup captain in 2018 and a Presidents Cup captain 2024 as he formulates a plan for his captaincy at Adare Manor next year. Furyk will become just the eighth U.S. captain to hold the position more than once, joining Davis Love III and Walter Hagen (who captained the team the first six times) as the only U.S. captains to get another chance despite a defeat.
The 2018 Ryder Cup with Furyk presided over at Le Golf National in France turned out to be quite the disaster for the U.S. side. After taking a 3-1 lead in morning four-balls the first day, the U.S. was swept in foursomes in the afternoon — sound familiar? — and never recovered. By Sunday, the Americans trailed 10-6 and could not mount a singles challenge, getting trounced, 17½-10½.
