By Priya Raman

PGA Tour sponsorship revenue topped $1 billion this year, rising 14%, as rival LIV Golf filed a Chapter 11 (court-supervised bankruptcy) plan to wind down in a New Jersey bankruptcy court.

“The marketplace seems to be validating the future direction of the PGA Tour,” Dhruv Prasad, the tour’s chief commercial officer, told Bloomberg. The endorsement came alongside a 2028 competition reset and $1.5 billion left untouched in the tour’s commercial business.

How does the 2028 competition reset work?

In June, the PGA Tour announced a revamped structure that divides the circuit into two series, with the format scheduled to begin in 2028, Bloomberg reported.

• Championship Series: Roughly 24 events, each offering at least $20 million in prize money.
• Challenger Series: 20 tournaments, each paying $4 million or more, with a path for players to earn promotion.

Prasad said the tour has already lined up backers for most Championship Series events and is negotiating with several companies over Challenger Series tournaments. The commercial test is therefore partly answered: most of the top tier has support, while the tour is still selling the lower tier.

The two tiers create distinct sponsorship propositions. One covers roughly 24 premier events with $20 million minimum purses; the other covers 20 events with $4 million minimum purses and an upward route for players.

What can the untouched $1.5 billion fund?

The tour has left untouched the $1.5 billion that flowed into PGA Tour Enterprises, its commercial business, according to Bloomberg. Strategic Sports Group made the investment, giving the tour a second source of deployable capital beyond sponsorship.

The group is led by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Fenway Sports Group’s John W. Henry and Tom Werner, and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen. Prasad said the funds could go toward facility improvements, hospitality, catering and ticketing.

The combination matters: a 14% sponsorship increase lifts commercial income, while the untouched $1.5 billion preserves flexibility to improve facilities and event services. Prasad framed those uses as options, not a committed spending plan.

Why did LIV’s challenge collapse?

LIV Golf, backed financially by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, challenged the PGA Tour earlier this decade by landing players with lucrative contracts, according to Bloomberg. A merger between the circuits was floated in 2023 but never materialized.

LIV later sought bankruptcy protection and is now moving toward shutdown after an effort to relaunch the league collapsed. On Tuesday, it filed a Chapter 11 plan with a New Jersey bankruptcy court that would wind down the league.

A proposed 2027 restart backed by $300 million from BC Partners Credit never took shape. BC Partners ended the restructuring agreement, and too few players backed the plan, leaving the proposed relaunch without its announced backer or sufficient player support.

What remains before LIV can shut down?

A hearing on conditional approval of the plan’s disclosure statement—the document used for creditor review—is set for Nov. 24, and a final hearing is scheduled for Jan. 7. The wind-down remains a court-dependent proposal, not a completed closure.

The plan still needs approval from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and LIV’s other creditors. LIV entered bankruptcy on Sept. 8, after the fund said it would end its funding once the 2026 season concluded. That deadline, the failed $300 million restart and the shortage of committed players leave the league facing wind-down rather than revival.

The strategic balance now favors the PGA Tour. It has a 14% sponsorship increase, backing for most of roughly 24 top-tier events and $1.5 billion in untouched capital. LIV, by contrast, has lost its proposed $300 million restart backer, failed to attract enough players and must obtain approval from its creditors and funding source before it can close.