One of professional golf’s more turbulent eras reached a new milestone on Tuesday, when LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to restructure ahead of its 2027 season.LIV’s decision comes after four years of battles across links, courtrooms and financial filings over how the Saudi-backed upstart could function in a sport long dominated by the PGA Tour. But speculation about the promotion’s financial health dates to its first emergence, and despite the public optimism of LIV officials, its future remains unclear.The Saudi Arabian government’s sports business arm, the Public Investment Fund, first announced the formation of LIV Golf Investments on Oct. 29, 2021. For the tour’s first four years, it was the league’s lifeblood. That ended in April, when PIF announced a major change of plans and set the stage for LIV’s current circumstances.April 29, 2026: Saudi fund pulls cashIn April, PIF announced that it was pulling its funding from LIV at the end of 2026 following years of losses. The tour said it would instead exist under a new, independent board, but cut its 2026 season short.“The substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF’s investment strategy,” the PIF announcement said.LIV responded in an announcement addressing the situation, saying it was focused on “securing long-term financial partners to support its transition from a foundational launch phase to a diversified, multi-partner investment model.”Is this the end for LIV Golf?Brody MillerExperts told The Athletic the next day that LIV Golf would face a steep uphill battle without the Saudis’ $900 billion fund sustaining it. After $5 billion in losses since LIV’s inception, CEO Scott O’Neil admitted that reaching profitability would take 5-10 years.LIV was spending more than $100 million per month at the time, according to the newsletter Money in Sport, and at least $30 million per tournament on prize winnings alone. As losses piled up, the tour said it would postpone its June competition in New Orleans. Its eventual cancelation would leave LIV owing the state of Louisiana a reported $1.2 million.May 2026: O’Neil shares optimism while McIlroy takes shotsO’Neil addressed LIV’s future less than two weeks after PIF pulled funding, assuring investors and the public that his team was developing a new business strategy to stay afloat.“There was a lot of angst, a lot of discord and a lot of frustration,” O’Neil said. “And a lot of that has been washed away.”