Ryder Cup legend claims LIV Golf was always 'a non-starter' despite fresh investment talks

Ryder Cup legend Tony Jacklin claims he would not be sorry to see LIV Golf come to an end, despite fresh reports suggesting the breakaway league is moving closer to securing new investment that could keep it alive beyond 2026.

Jacklin, 82, is one of Britain's greatest golfers, winning two majors, four PGA Tour titles and eight victories on the European Tour. 

The former Ryder Cup captain has never hidden his opposition to LIV Golf and admits his opinion has not changed. 

Jacklin's latest comments come after it was confirmed on Wednesday that private investment firm BC Partners is leading discussions over a financing package that could help fund a restructured LIV Golf League from 2027.

The update arrives several months after the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) confirmed it would be pulling the plug on funding the league past this season. 

According to Bloomberg and the Financial Times, negotiations between BC Partners and LIV Golf remain ongoing, with one of the biggest challenges involving guaranteed player contracts originally funded by the PIF. 

Any new deal is also understood to depend on LIV retaining enough of its biggest stars to remain commercially viable.. 

Tony Jacklin would not be sorry to see LIV Golf end

Regardless of the outcome, Jacklin believes LIV Golf has failed in its attempt to create a meaningful place in the sport after its first five years in operation. 

"From a personal point of view, I would not have been sorry about it ending," the two-time major champion said of LIV Golf during an interview with business consultants Champions (UK) plc.

Jacklin added: "They thought they could manufacture or buy history, and you cannot do that. I do not understand who wants music playing on the tees, shotgun starts and uncertainty over where the eventual winner will finish. The whole thing feels contrived.

"It was backed by enormous wealth and supported by figures such as Phil Mickelson and Greg Norman, but I always thought it was a non-starter."

While Jacklin has little affection for LIV Golf, he believes its arrival permanently changed the economics of professional golf.

"That kind of money was brought into golf, and it threw everything into chaos, including the PGA Tour," said Jacklin. 

"There is now so much money swirling around the PGA Tour that, to a large extent, I have lost interest. The money in golf has become obscene, and it has turned it into a completely different game.

"LIV forced the PGA Tour to bring private equity money into the game, and the investors were there for it. In that respect, golf remains in a healthy state. I am simply part of its history and its past now."

Jacklin, who joins Luke Donald as the only captains to ever win back to back Ryder Cups, also believes modern golf has drifted too far from the game he grew up playing.

"Do not even get me started on what the USGA and The R&A have allowed to happen with equipment and the ball," he said.

"The game now has little to do with the one I started playing in 1953. It is time for me to step back and observe from afar. I will watch and hope everybody is happy doing what they are doing."

Jacklin was speaking ahead of the 2026 Champions (UK) plc British Par 3 Championship, which he has hosted for almost two decades.