LIV Golf bombshell: League files for bankruptcy owing up to $1 billion; what will happen to its biggest stars now?

FILE – A general view of the flagpole on the 18th hole during the first round of LIV Golf Jeddah at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, Friday, March 1, 2024, in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. (Matthew Harris/LIV Golf via AP, File) LIV Golf has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, throwing the future of the breakaway tour and its biggest stars into fresh uncertainty after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund pulled its multibillion-dollar backing.The request was filed in federal court in New Jersey on Tuesday, with LIV saying the process will allow it to restructure its finances and pursue a new ownership model ahead of a planned comeback next year.But court documents show the extent of the financial problems facing the tour. LIV estimates it has between $500 million and $1 billion in liabilities to at least 1,000 creditors, while its estimated assets are between $100 million and $500 million.Among those creditors are several of LIV’s biggest stars, with at least $45 million owed to 14 current and former players among the top 30 unsecured claims.The filing now leaves players with a major decision: whether to stay with the restructured version of LIV Golf or leave and try to recover the money owed to them through the courts.

Jon Rahm tops the list of players owed money

The court documents detail the 30 largest unsecured claims against LIV Golf.Two-time major winner Jon Rahm has the most debt among players with $7.5 million in unsecured debt.Next is Bryson DeChambeau, who is listed as owed $5.7 million, while Dustin Johnson is entitled to $5.5 million.Australia’s Cameron Smith is listed at $4.8 million and England’s Tyrrell Hatton at $3.4 million.Brooks Koepka is also on the list, although the five-time major winner has already left LIV and will return to the PGA Tour in January 2026. Koepka has an unsecured claim of $1.7 million.A total of 14 current and former LIV players among the top 30 unsecured creditors are owed just over $45 million.However, a source familiar with the figures told BBC Sport that the figures represented the money owed and unpaid for the third quarter of 2026, rather than the full value of the players’ contracts or the total amount they are owed.The difference is important given the size of some of the contracts that have helped LIV lure top players away from established tours.According to reports, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has spent more than $5 billion on LIV since the tour’s launch in 2021, with its first season taking place in 2022.Major champions including Rahm and DeChambeau were among the players lured by lucrative contracts and big money, helping LIV establish itself as a serious contender on the PGA Tour while creating one of the biggest divisions the sport has seen in decades. Now this original model is ending.

LIV wants to return as a player-owned league

LIV filing for Chapter 11 doesn’t mean the tour intends to disappear.Instead, the organization says it wants to use bankruptcy proceedings to reorganize and come back in a different form.LIV says it has identified BC Partners, an international investment firm, as its proposed new investor following the decision by Saudi Arabia’s PIF to withdraw its funding in April.LIV CEO Scott O’Neil said the court process would provide the structure and time needed to execute the proposed transaction and begin the next phase of the league.“This process gives us the structure and time to complete the landmark transaction and begin the next chapter of LIV Golf,” O’Neil said.He added that the proposed new version will be built around fans, a player-first ownership model and a place in the wider global golf ecosystem.LIV’s letter to fans described the court-supervised restructuring as a way to resolve its previous financial obligations while completing a transaction designed to support the next phase of the league.The organization said the new league will be built on a “sustainable business model”, marking a significant change from the massive spending that defined LIV’s early years.The players are expected to receive equity in the new organization, while their individual commercial rights would be returned to them. This would give players more opportunities to earn money outside of prize pools.The proposed financial reward would also be reduced.LIV says its purses would be lower than those on the PGA Tour, whose prize pools have increased in part due to competition created by LIV, but would remain higher than events on the DP World Tour.The plan is also to change the competition itself.The proposed new league would expand the field to 75 players, introduce restrictions, create qualifying events and add more teams that adopt a national identity.LIV also wants these teams to develop into long-term global sporting enterprises, rather than remain tour-affiliated golf teams.The organization intends to launch a new majority player-owned league in early 2027, although LIV said no definitive decisions have yet been made on the 2027 schedule or individual events.LIV has already laid off most of its staff this month, another sign of change from the heavily funded first version of the tour.

Players are not required to join LIV 2.0

The biggest question now is whether the players who helped make LIV a global golf story will remain a part of it.BBC Sport understands that players are under no obligation to sign up to LIV 2.0, even if they have previously signed multi-year contracts with LIV Golf.BBC Sport sources have told LIV’s previous contracts will end as a result of the court filing, with money owed to players and other creditors being dealt with in bankruptcy proceedings.However, it remains unclear when those players might begin discussions with other tours.LIV said it remains in advanced discussions with players, including talks about creating an ownership structure that would align their interests with the league’s long-term success.Several LIV stars have reportedly been linked with possible returns to the PGA Tour and other circuits.But a return to the PGA Tour isn’t straightforward right now.PGA Tour CEO and Commissioner Brian Rolapp confirmed that the tour currently has no plans to renew its program for returning members, meaning players such as Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith do not currently have a direct path back.The program was previously used by Koepka when he returned to the PGA Tour in January.As part of the deal, Koepka forfeited his LIV player shares for five years, lost eligibility for the $100 million FedEx Cup bonus program, and agreed to a $5 million charitable donation.His return therefore came with significant conditions, and there is currently no indication that the same path will reopen for other LIV players.

Rahm and DeChambeau are uncertain about their futures

The uncertainty surrounding the biggest names was already visible before Tuesday’s filing.At LIV’s final tournament of the season in Indianapolis last month, O’Neil told the BBC he had a “high degree of confidence” that the organization could attract a critical mass of players to make the new league viable.DeChambeau was also positive about what could be coming, saying there is “a lot of potential moving forward” and that he believes “something fun is coming.”Rahm was more cautious.On Tuesday ahead of this week’s Irish Open, the Spaniard was asked if he knew what the coming months would bring.“Yes and no,” Rahm told BBC Sport.“It really hasn’t changed since my last interview in Indianapolis.He said there are still many possible developments ahead, before adding: “Time will tell.”Rahm also made it clear that he is still ready to honor his existing deal with LIV.“I’m still under contract with LIV 1.0 which I’m more than willing to honor, so like I said, time will tell,” he said.The bankruptcy filing has now changed the situation around these existing contracts, with BBC Sport announcing that the previous deals will end in court.

Saudi Arabia’s role is coming to an end

LIV’s financial woes follow the decision by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to halt funding for the tour.The PIF has invested an estimated $5bn (£3.7bn) into LIV since its launch, helping to fund contracts, prize money and infrastructure to enable the fledgling league to take on the PGA Tour.When the PIF announced its decision to withdraw funding in April, it said the “significant investment required by LIV Golf over the longer term” was no longer in line with its strategy.However, the fund said it remained committed to its wider investments in sports.Despite withdrawing its support, the PIF is still providing LIV with $49.6m (£36.6m) in debtor-in-possession financing to help fund the bankruptcy process.

A caddy studies the putting green on the 18th hole during the first round of the LIV golf tournament in Naucalpan, on the outskirts of Mexico City, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

LIV is also seeking recognition of its US bankruptcy in England and Wales, which would extend protection to its international assets and operations.The Chapter 11 process gives a US company protection from creditors when it tries to reorganize its debts or sell parts of its business.For LIV, this process is now used to try to preserve the league rather than simply shutting it down.The original LIV model, built on enormous Saudi investment and the recruitment of many of the world’s biggest players, has reached its financial end.What comes next is supposed to be smaller, more sustainable and partially controlled by the players themselves, but whether the stars that made LIV what it has become will still be there remains to be seen.