LIV Golf is up in flames, and it appears that a fiery moment at the Masters is the reason the golf league is on thin ice.
According to a new report from the Financial Times, Garcia’s rage-filled demolition of the tee box during the final round at the Masters, which damaged the Augusta National course, factored into the Public Investment Fund (PIF) deciding to turn off the money hose for LIV Golf.
FT reported that people familiar with the matter believe PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan was so embarrassed by the events that it partly led to the decision to pull the plug on financing the rival tour.
Garcia slammed his driver into the turf twice after a shot landed in the bunker, damaging the tee grounds before walking back and swinging his driver at a cooler, snapping the head off.
He then had to play the rest of the round without a driver.
Garcia finished 8-over par at the Masters and in 52nd place out of 54 players who made the cut.
LIV Golf is currently trying to restructure the league, but is in rather dire straits now that PIF has turned off the money faucet that was alluring the league’s top players to the renegade league.
In a defensive move in January 2024 as LIV Golf was making serious waves, the PGA Tour announced an agreement with Strategic Sports Group (SSG Investment) to raise capital.
FT reported, though, that PGA Tour insiders believe that the league has buyer’s remorse over that, having now seen LIV Golf’s money backing fall off with a whimper.
The PGA Tour now fears that it may have unwittingly ceded too much authority to Wall Street financiers.
LIV Golf lost $1.4 billion in its three years of operation from 2022-24 and is trying to use its massive debt totals as a selling point to big-pocketed investors who may come in.
The league is hosting an event in Indianapolis this week, the season finale, after the Michigan Team Championship was canceled, as they scramble to figure out what is next heading into 2027.
