Former winning European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley reckons LIV Golf was destined to fail from the outset, following news that BC Partners Credit, the lead investor in “LIV 2.0,” had withdrawn from the project after struggling to convince several star players to fully commit to the league going forward.
In a statement, LIV Golf said only that attempts to implement its Restructuring Support Agreement with BC Partners had foundered.
Speaking on RTEs Morning Ireland, McGinley outlined a number of reasons as to why the breakaway league failed after just four years, including their basic principles.
“I think it was based on bad fundamentals, I think that was the main thing,” said McGinley speaking to RTE.
“LIV Golf had an idea that team events was going to work in an individual sport that golf is. They also took on the might of America, but as Warren Buffet would say in business terms, ‘don’t bet against Uncle Sam’.
McGINLEY ON DEMISE OF LIV GOLF ….
“LIV Golf went head-to-head, toe-to-toe with corporate America, which is the backbone of the PGA Tour, and came out on the wrong side of that”, said McGinley speaking to RTE.
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“And they went head-to-head, toe-to-toe with corporate America, which is the backbone of the PGA Tour, and came out on the wrong side of that. But they were incredibly strong and able to move the financial needle in order to stand toe-to-toe with the Saudis.
“So, ultimately, it wasn’t thought through well and it wasn’t a great idea.”
He later said: “it was also a flawed business model with really bad advice that the Saudis got in terms of the power that they were taking on.”
McGinley was speaking following Thursday’s news that the breakaway league would be liquidated.
Following the PIF pulling their funding earlier in the year, LIV Golf had hoped to find external backing, but to no avail.
The big winners according to the Dubliner have been the players, who “got paid a huge amount of money”, with the likes of Jon Rahm set to play a full 2027 season on the DP World Tour.
The 54-year-old sees those players returning to the main stage, via Europe, as a step in the right direction going forward.
“The guys who stayed on the PGA Tour, like Scottie Scheffler for instance is making $100m a year since LIV came on the pitch, and that’s not bad”, he explained.
“Jon Rahm would have maybe made more money staying with the PGA Tour than he ultimately did going to LIV because a lot of money didn’t get paid, but he was world number one when he went.”
McGinley went on to add: “The tours can’t act like a business could and say, ‘absolutely not, you’re never coming back, that’s the end of it’ because there’s a legal case that would be on the side of players being in a members organisation.
“So they will slowly find a way back on to the tours, probably through Europe first, and then the ones who player really well may then get an opportunity to go play in America again.”
- Copy RTE 100
