LIV Golf’s Wild Ride: Trump, Mystery Investors, and a League Fighting for Life

So, LIV Golf. It’s been a week. A damn wild one. Down at Trump Bedminster, Scott O’Neil, LIV’s CEO, was seen walking the back nine with a guy named Ted Goldthorpe. Goldthorpe? He runs BC Partners Credit. Man manages billions. And guess what his team has been looking at? Yep, LIV Golf. This whole circus just announced they’ve got some unnamed investor ready to keep the lights on through 2027. Just like that. Carry and fund the whole damn thing. It’s like a bad soap opera, but with more private jets.

LIV isn’t exactly shouting from the rooftops about BC Partners being the savior. That juicy detail leaked out through Bloomberg and the Financial Times. The FT, specifically, dropped that this whole deal hinges on BC Partners and any other money men getting assurances that the big names – the A-listers, you know – are sticking around. Otherwise, what’s the point? And get this, BC Partners is already a lender to GSE Worldwide. That’s the agency repping LIV’s golden boy, Bryson DeChambeau. And Joaquin Niemann, the Chilean who just bagged his ninth LIV title at Bedminster. GSE put out a statement, all official-like, saying they had zero involvement. Didn’t know a thing about any financing talks. Right. Because that’s how these things always go down, right? Total transparency. Bullshit.

DeChambeau’s Take: A “Fresh Vision”?

I asked Bryson DeChambeau, after his Crushers team snagged the team win, if he knew anything about this supposed BC deal beforehand. His answer? Classic Bryson. He claimed he didn’t know the “mechanics” of the investor-GSE chats. But what he did say was that this investor has a “new and fresh vision.” Apparently, it won’t change too much, but it’ll change in the “right ways.” He thinks the guy sees the vision. Wants to push it harder. He’s excited. And if the players can all get aligned, which DeChambeau feels they will, this thing could become a “force for good in the game.” A force for good. Really? We’ll see about that. Still up in the air if BC Partners and Goldthorpe will actually sign on the dotted line and make this “vision” a reality.

Goldthorpe himself isn’t exactly a rookie in the sports world. His firm has a piece of Riddell, the NFL helmet maker. He’s on the advisory board for the Brampton Honey Badgers, a basketball team in Canada. He’s got board seats with the Canadian Olympic Foundation and Lacrosse Canada. And the Pine Valley shirt he was rocking? Suggests he’s spent some time in the fancy locker rooms, no doubt. He was seen pacing the grounds with O’Neil, taking in the whole LIV experience. The loud music, the hospitality that feels more like a Vegas nightclub than a country club. And then, of course, the man himself: President Trump.

Trump’s Cameo and Helicopter Drama

Trump showed up. Addressed a big crowd in player dining before the final round. Lavished praise on Gary Player. Then, later, as Niemann was lining up a shot on the 18th, the unmistakable sound of helicopters. Not just any choppers. The President’s. One buzzed up the left side of the hole and landed behind the corporate suites. The players, they just stared. Goldthorpe pulled out his phone. Documenting the moment, I guess. After Niemann finished and the champagne started flowing, Goldthorpe called his day “great” but politely declined an interview. He was busy, you see. Shaking hands with the champ, saying hi to DeChambeau, keeping up with O’Neil. After DeChambeau’s team chatted with Trump by the clubhouse – DeChambeau apparently told him how hard his course is – Goldthorpe joined the procession. Players, managers, media, Eric Trump and his family. All heading up the hill for the trophy ceremony. As that was going on, Trump Sr. was on his way out. His helicopter buzzed over the podium. Eric and DeChambeau looked up. Eric pumped his fist. DeChambeau gave a thumbs-up. Just another Sunday at LIV, I suppose.

A Chaotic Week Culminates in Uncertainty

This whole scene, chaotic as it was, felt like a fitting end to a chaotic week. Tuesday, the LIV players had a 90-minute closed-door meeting. The news had just dropped: their league might actually have a lifeline. A flicker of hope. But when they filed out, most of them clammed up. Dodged the reporters. The few who did talk said DeChambeau led the meeting. Vibes were “positive.” But details? Scarce. Nobody knew if the season-ending team championship in Michigan was even happening. The setup hadn’t started, and it was already yanked from the Fox Sports broadcast schedule. Classic.

Wednesday morning, O’Neil held a press conference. Hasty, as these things usually are. He announced a “term sheet” with a “lead investor.” Then he took questions. Reporters, with so little to go on, looked like they were trying to decipher ancient hieroglyphs. One question O’Neil got hammered with: Did the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), LIV’s old money source, know about this new deal? O’Neil’s answer was… evasive. He called the PIF a “tremendous steward.” Then he pointed to their April statement. You know, the one that said the “substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF’s investment strategy.” Translation: They’re out, or at least scaling way back. O’Neil added, “I don’t speak for them, and they don’t speak to you through me for sure.” Smooth. Really smooth.

So, naturally, eyebrows shot up when Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor himself, showed up at Trump Bedminster. First time he’s been seen at a LIV event since the opener in Riyadh. DeChambeau and the other players only found out Saturday night. When asked why Al-Rumayyan was there, DeChambeau said, “I think he needed to have some conversations with the president.” Another layer to the mystery. “That was a whole ‘nother thing. I’m not going to get involved with that.” But, he added, it was “great to see him out here.” He thinks Al-Rumayyan has “done wonders for us and the global game of golf.” And as things transition to the “new investor’s hands and into the players’ hands,” which he insists is where it’s heading, they have an “opportunity to align a lot of the global incentives to be a force for good for the game.” More of that “force for good” talk. You can almost hear the marketing department cringing.

What Does This Mean for the Future of LIV?

From his post-round schmoozing, Goldthorpe seemed to know some people in the LIV orbit and was meeting others for the first time. Niemann, the champ, said he was unsure if Goldthorpe had spoken to any players formally. “I don’t know,” he said. “I was pretty focused on doing my thing.” Fair enough. His focus was on hitting the ball in the hole. And he did that better than anyone else this week.

Two weeks from now, LIV heads to Indianapolis for its last regular-season event. Then, Michigan. Or maybe not. It’s looking more and more like “not.” And then? Well, then things get really interesting. DeChambeau said he and his LIV mates want to “bring value to anywhere and everywhere for the game of golf.” Noble sentiments, I’m sure. But first, they’ve got a more pressing issue: convincing more investors that LIV Golf is actually worth investing in. It’s a tough sell, let’s be honest. A lot of moving parts, a lot of unanswered questions. This whole saga is far from over. You can bet on that.

For anyone interested in the business side of professional golf, this ongoing drama is fascinating. Keeping up with the latest developments in LIV Golf and its potential investors is crucial for understanding the future landscape of the sport. For more insights into the business of golf and how it’s evolving, you can explore resources like Forbes’ Sports Business section .