LIV Golf's aim was to 'destroy' us, says European tour CEO

LIV Golf wanted to “destroy” the European tour, the head of the worldwide circuit has said as he prepares to welcome back many of the players who defected to the Saudi-funded breakaway league over the past four years.The professional golfing landscape was upended by the formation of LIV, which took some of the top stars from the European and PGA Tours after they accepted huge sums by PIF — Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund that bankrolled the project.Now, the breakaway league is battling to simply survive — in the form of a watered-down “LIV 2.0” version and without Saudi investment — as it works through Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a pledge of $300 million from BC Partners Credit.That has led to most of LIV’s top names quitting the league and planning to return to the established circuits, with Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Sergio Garcia coming back to the European tour and others set to be eligible for sponsor invites.Guy Kinnings, CEO of the European tour, is having to weigh up rega