09/08/26 04:49:00
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09/08 16:48 CDT LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection as it tries to survive
in a smaller version
LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection as it tries to survive in a smaller
version
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday in New Jersey with
more than $500 million in debt, part of its goal to revive the league without
Saudi funding.
The move was widely expected after the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia
abruptly ended its financial support after the final event of the 2026 season.
LIV said it has agreed to a restructuring plan with BC Partners as the primary
source of its capital.
"This process gives us the structure and time to pursue a landmark transaction
and begin the next chapter of LIV Golf," CEO Scott O'Neil said in a news
release.
O'Neil has said "LIV Golf 2.0" would feature players as majority owners in a
reduced schedule. In a letter to LIV Golf fans, O'Neil said the new look would
expand the size of the field from 57 to 75 players and introduce a 54-hole cut
for the first time.
He said the team concept would be built around nationalities and that LIV would
continue to tap some of its more successful markets in Australia, South Africa
and Asia.
Still, the new version would be a shell of what LIV had been when it launched
in June 2022 --- enormous signing bonuses to lure away top names from the PGA
Tour, and excessive spending that topped more than $5 billion before PIF said
in April it was pulling the plug.
Still to be determined is the future of the biggest stars still with LIV, most
notably Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. Rahm is playing the Irish Open this
week and told BBC Northern Ireland: "I still have a contract with LIV 1.0 that
I'm more than willing to fulfill. Like I said, time will tell."
Rahm, DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith were the leading four
creditors listed in the filing.
LIV listed between $100 million and $500 million in estimated assets, and $500
million and $1 billion in liabilities.
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