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LIV Golf Files for Bankruptcy Protection, Seeks New Form for 2024
Confirmed
In Short: LIV Golf has filed for bankruptcy protection, aiming to restructure and return in a new form next year.
LIV Golf, the controversial breakaway tour that spent billions luring top players from the PGA, has officially filed for bankruptcy protection. The filing, made at a New Jersey court, marks a significant turning point for the organization, which lost its deep-pocketed Saudi investors earlier this year.
CEO Scott O'Neil stated, "This process gives us the structure and time to pursue a landmark transaction and begin the next chapter of LIV Golf." The organization intends to return in a new form, built around the fans, an innovative, player-first ownership model, and as part of the global golf ecosystem. However, the fate of star players like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm remains uncertain.
According to court filings reviewed by AFP, LIV Golf owes up to $1 billion in liabilities to at least 1,000 creditors. The organization has partnered with British investment group BC Partners for the restructuring effort. LIV Golf is also seeking recognition of the US bankruptcy filing in England and Wales to cover its international assets and operations.
The filing indicates that LIV Golf intends to commence its new majority player-owned league early next year. However, there is no obligation on players to sign on to LIV 2.0, regardless of their previous multi-year contracts. LIV Golf chief executive Scott O'Neil expressed confidence in achieving a "critical mass" of players to make the new league a reality.
The court filing also revealed that LIV Golf owes more than $5 million each to Rahm, DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson, who hold the largest unsecured claims against the tour. PIF, the Saudi investment fund, is providing a bankruptcy loan of $49.6 million to help fund the process. A source familiar with the figures told BBC Sport that the creditors list outlines the "amount owed and not paid for Q3" of 2026, not the full amounts.
Despite the uncertainty, LIV Golf chief executive Scott O'Neil told the BBC at the final event in Indianapolis last month, "We have high levels of confidence in achieving a critical mass of players to make the new league a reality." The future of LIV Golf remains to be seen, with time telling whether the organization can successfully restructure and return in a new form.
What's still developing
- The PIF will now provide a loan worth nearly $50 million for the bankruptcy and reorganization process, the LIV statement showed.
- However, it remains unclear when players would then be able to enter discussions with other tours. 'Time will tell' - Rahm on LIV Golf future Strained smiles and uncertainty - the strange end of LIV Golf 1.0 Saudi Arabia to stop funding LIV Golf next season Since LIV's controversial launch in 2021, more than $5bn (£3.7bn) has been spent by PIF, with major winners including Rahm and DeChambeau lured by lucrative contracts and vast prize money.