Sportsupdated 53m ago2 min read
Graeme McDowell Confirms Exit From LIV Golf, Rejects LIV 2.0 Plans
“it will be taking a tougher line and that any player signing with the new-look LIV will be ineligible for membership”
“but the 47-year-old did not elaborate on his future plans.”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Graeme McDowell confirms exit from LIV Golf. He will not pursue LIV 2.0 for the 2027 relaunch.
McDowell quits LIV 2.0
Graeme McDowell confirmed he will leave LIV Golf, saying he has "decided not to pursue" LIV 2.0, the new version of the breakaway tour due to start in 2027. McDowell, the 2010 US Open winner who is 47, said, "I've decided not to pursue LIV 2.0," as he described the move as the start of "the next chapter in my career." LIV Golf’s planned relaunch is tied to new investment after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew its backing in April, having pumped in more than $5bn.
LIV Golf also secured possible $300m financing from BC Partners Credit to try to move forward with "LIV 2.0," but the sources say only a handful of players have committed so far. McDowell joined LIV Golf when it launched as a Saudi Arabia-backed project in 2022, and his best finish on LIV was a tie for second in Virginia in June 2025.
A widening exit list
LIV Golf’s departures have widened beyond McDowell, with Jon Rahm and Louis Oosthuizen also confirming their exits, while Tom McKibbin said he was leaving to return to the DP World Tour last week. Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter also left the competition, and the BBC said LIV was appointing former Taylor Made and Adidas executive Mark King as senior adviser. Mark King said, "Having spent much of my career in golf, I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for LIV Golf to establish itself as a competitive and enduring force in the game."
LIV said it "remains laser focused on advancing its conversations with players regarding their participation" in LIV 2.0, even as a deadline for player sign-ups had been set for Sunday. The BBC also reported that a lawyer representing LIV told a bankruptcy court hearing earlier this month it needed to sign a "sufficient number of players to have a bona fide golf league."
What LIV 2.0 needs next
LIV’s ability to proceed with LIV 2.0 depends on player commitments, with the BBC saying league sources described LIV 2.0 as generating "inbound interest from established, elite professionals and emerging talent" across global professional golf. The AOL.co.uk account said LIV has secured possible $300m financing from BC Partners Credit to try to move forward with "LIV 2.0," but only a handful of players have so far committed. The Irish Times said McDowell joined Tom McKibbin in relinquishing status on the LIV Golf circuit, and it quoted McKibbin saying, "I will be playing a full schedule on the DP World Tour in 2027."
The Irish Times also reported that McKibbin’s final order of merit position of 87th earned him a full tour card for next season. The 42 said LIV is attempting to relaunch in 2027 as LIV 2.0 with new money from BC Partners Capital after the Public Investment Fund withdrew support after ploughing in $5bn over four years.