LIV Golf files bankruptcy with $45m owed to players
LIV Golf has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey after Saudi PIF pulled funding, owing over $45m to top players like Jon Rahm.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- LIV Golf files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with over $45m owed to players
- Saudi Arabia's PIF pulled its funding earlier in April this year
- Major winners like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau top the creditors list
- LIV plans a player-owned league next year backed by new investor BC Partners
Professional golf has been shaken as LIV Golf officially filed for bankruptcy protection in a federal district court in New Jersey, United States. The breakaway league currently owes at least 45 million dollars, equivalent to 33 million pounds, to its players, who will now be granted the freedom to leave the circuit.
This major development comes on the heels of the decision made in April by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, known as PIF, to withdraw its financial backing. To manage the fallout, LIV has turned to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which pauses creditor obligations and allows the company to restructure its debts while receiving a debtor-in-possession loan of 49.6 million dollars from PIF.
Court filings outline the top 30 unsecured creditors, featuring 14 current and former LIV players. Two-time major champion Jon Rahm leads the list with an unsecured claim of 7.5 million dollars, followed by other prominent stars:
- Jon Rahm: $7.5m (£5.5m)
- Bryson DeChambeau: $5.7m (£4.2m)
- Dustin Johnson: $5.5m (£4.1m)
- Cameron Smith: $4.8m (£3.5m)
- Tyrrell Hatton: $3.4m (£2.5m)
Additionally, Brooks Koepka, who departed to rejoin the PGA Tour in January, holds a claim of 1.7 million dollars. Court documents show LIV estimates its total assets between 100 million and 500 million dollars, against liabilities ranging from 500 million to 1 billion dollars.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Despite the financial turmoil, LIV Golf has confirmed international investment firm BC Partners as its proposed new investor in a letter outlining its next phase. The organization intends to launch a new majority player-owned league early next year, offering players equity and individual commercial rights to build a more sustainable business model.
"Yes and no. It hasn't really changed from my last interview in Indianapolis."
Jon Rahm
LIV Golf's Chapter 11 filing marks a definitive end to the aggressive cash-burning era of LIV 1.0. By shifting toward a sustainable business model where players hold equity and commercial rights, the league is attempting to reinvent itself to compete with established circuits like the PGA Tour on steadier financial ground.
Source: BBC Sport
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