Sports · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
LIV Golf Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection in New Jersey, Seeks $49.6 Million Saudi Loan
LIV Golf filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey to restructure. It secured a $49.6 million restructuring loan from Saudi Public Investment Fund.
Whether bankruptcy extinguishes contracts.
10 of 12 outlets skipped it: PIF pullback prompted bankruptcy timing.
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SPORT
“contratos correspondientes a la actual etapa de LIV Golf quedarán extinguidos”Read the original ↗
The New York Times
“These figures reflect past-due third-quarter payments to each player, rather than future expected payments”Read the original ↗
SPORT stresses that LIV 1.0 contracts are extinguished, while The New York Times stresses the filing lists past-due estimates.
Chapter 11 in New Jersey
LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey on Tuesday, seeking to restructure its business while transitioning to a player-first ownership model.
“LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey on Tuesday”
The filing said the league intended to go forward with a $49.6 million bankruptcy loan provided by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, and it aimed to exit bankruptcy by early 2027.
Court documents cited by Reuters put LIV’s liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion and its assets between $100 million and $500 million, and the petition said PIF owns 100% of LIV Golf’s equity.
Reuters also said Rahm, DeChambeau and Johnson are the company’s top three unsecured creditors, with each owed more than $5 million, and the league said bankruptcy is meant to keep it in business while it transitions.
In a separate report, The New York Times said LIV’s reorganization would happen alongside BC Partners Advisors’ credit division and that PIF’s debtor-in-possession financing would come with milestones, including deadlines tied to signing a finalized investment agreement with BC Partners.T
Players weigh staying
Lee Westwood said he will consider staying with LIV Golf despite the organization’s Chapter 11 filing, telling talkSPORT that “whenever bankruptcy is mentioned, that’s never a good idea.”
Westwood also said he enjoys playing on LIV and that “they’re just working on that at the moment,” as LIV 2.0’s new partner is expected to begin in early 2027.
The BBC reported that LIV owes at least $45m (£33m) to 14 current and former players, and it said golfers can now opt to leave rather than be obliged to see out contracts in LIV 2.0.
The BBC added that the DP World Tour is exploring how to accommodate players, with a spokesperson saying: "Given the high volume of inbound interest and enquiries we have received in recent weeks, we are exploring the terms on which we are willing to accommodate players".
In the same BBC report, it said it may not be easy for LIV players to return to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour given the acrimony since LIV’s launch in 2021 and the outlay of $5bn (£3.7bn) split the sport.S
LIV 2.0 and what’s at risk
LIV said its restructuring support agreement with BC Partners Advisors’ credit business contemplates a recapitalization transaction intended to preserve the company’s business as a going concern through a player-first ownership model.
“Consummation of the Transaction remains subject to, among other things, Court and relevant stakeholder approval.”
LIV’s statement said it intends to emerge from Chapter 11 and begin its new era in early 2027, and it said PIF agreed to provide $49.6 million in debtor-in-possession financing subject to court approval.
The New York Times reported that LIV estimates its assets are worth between $100 million and $500 million and its liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion, illustrating a gap that helps LIV qualify for Chapter 11.T
It also said Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are listed with the largest unsecured claims, worth $7.4 million and $5.7 million respectively, and that those figures reflect past-due third-quarter payments rather than future expected payments based on multiyear contracts.
As LIV tries to rebuild, the BBC reported that the PGA Tour automatically bans LIV golfers for a year and that it took the returning player programme for Brooks Koepka to return in 2026, while Rahm, DeChambeau and Cameron Smith rejected that deal.