LIV Golf will know future by end of month, accuses DP World Tour of interference; Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson freed from LIV contracts
Jordan Bank
Lawyers for LIV Golf said that the embattled league will know if it has a future or will cease operations in the next two weeks, while simultaneously asserting the DP World Tour is attempting to “interfere” with LIV’s survival.
During a Wednesday hearing regarding LIV’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a New Jersey judge asked for clarity on the timeline for “LIV 2.0.” A LIV attorney responded they are “working hard around the clock both on the player front and on the structural front.” Initially LIV’s investor, BC Partners, had a mid-October deadline for players to sign up for the league, however, last week BC pushed that date back to Oct. 25.
When the judge asked the attorneys if they would be able to tell the court whether LIV was “toggling to a wind down” or going forward, LIV’s attorney responded the decision will be made by the end of the month. "Once we have full clarity on LIV 2.0, the debtors will need to very shortly begin making payments to host sites, vendors and other parties, so that we can schedule and prepare for LIV 2.0,” LIV’s attorney said.
It is unclear how many players are interested in staying at LIV. Last week Jon Rahm's attorney stated the two-time major winner wanted out, and others have expressed similar desires. Bryson DeChambeau had previously stated his want to stay with LIV, but has been publicly quiet over the past month.
As part of those discussions LIV’s legal team then accused the DP World Tour of injecting itself into the proceedings. Earlier this week the DP World Tour said it is banning LIV Golf members from competing in its events starting in 2027. The DP World Tour had been granting LIV players conditional releases to participate in tournaments, a move that was partially done in order to keep several LIV individuals eligible for the Ryder Cup. However, those still with LIV must apply for DP World Tour membership by Nov. 16 and guidelines now stipulate that double-dipping between tours is not allowed.
In Wednesday’s hearing, LIV’s attorney said, "We're continuing to monitor this situation very closely and we're quite concerned by it frankly.
"Player freedom is the reason LIV Golf was created, and it's the foundation of LIV Golf 2.0, a league built around its players,” the attorney continued. “LIV has been vocal in its belief in free agency and that the best players should have greater flexibility to compete across the ecosystem. It's unfortunate that another tour is taking an opposite view and pressuring our players with false choice."
In August, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil asserted LIV wanted to “complete, not compete” the golf ecosystem, a comment that upset DP World Tour officials after LIV tried to poach several DP World Tour tournaments and sponsors. Additionally, O’Neil accused a DP World Tour leader of contacting LIV players to discuss their options; subsequent reporting indicated it was actually player agents contacting the DP World Tour. As for “player freedom,” LIV players surrender their name, image and likeness rights to LIV when signing, were contracted to play in LIV events and could not play in other tournaments that coincided with LIV competitions.
Amid other LIV bankruptcy news, a court rejected more than a dozen player contracts with LIV, including those of DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Lucas Herbert, Harold Varner III and Michael La Sasso. Those players are now allowed to seek agency elsewhere or begin negotiating new contracts with LIV. The judge also approved the agreement between LIV Golf and BC Partners. “In approving [the agreement] the court is not ruling on the validity of claims, except limited carveouts for certain sponsor protections, nor any other aspects of a proposed plan,” the judge said. “This is an important first step in order to really identify viable paths for the debtor, either through continuing operations or a wind-down.”
Under the proposed restructuring, BC Partners would finance an attempted LIV return in 2027 through what the league described as a “recapitalization transaction.” BC Partners has ties to GSE Worldwide, the agency representing a sizable portion of LIV’s roster. Questions remain about the nature of the firm’s commitment, including whether the financing is structured as a loan, dependent upon additional investors or if BC is just using LIV for a tax write-off.
The bankruptcy filing had been expected for months after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew its financial support from the five-year-old league. LIV’s financial troubles have extended beyond its players. Several contractors say they have not been paid for their work, while the league also faces a lawsuit from the Premier Golf League alleging breach of confidence and conspiracy by unlawful means.
