LIV Golf Files Chapter 11 After PIF Pulls Funding — SkimNews
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- LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US federal district court of New Jersey on Tuesday, after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund withdrew its multibillion-dollar funding in April.
- The filing means all LIV players have the option to leave, with sources telling BBC Sport that previous multi-year contracts will end and amounts owed to players and other creditors addressed through the court process.
- LIV Golf confirmed international investment firm BC Partners as its proposed new investor, with plans for the restructured league — described as majority player-owned — to launch early next year.
- PIF is providing a $49.6m (£36.6m) 'debtor in possession' bankruptcy loan to fund the restructuring, despite having spent more than $5bn (£3.7bn) on LIV since its controversial 2021 launch.
- Documents in the petition list two-time major winner Jon Rahm as LIV's top creditor with an unsecured claim of $7.5m (£5.5m); fellow major winner Bryson DeChambeau also faces an uncertain future in the new structure.
- The restructured 'LIV 2.0' will give players equity and returned individual commercial rights, with field sizes expanding to 75 players, a cut introduced, qualifiers added, and purses set lower than PGA Tour events but higher than DP World Tour events.
Why it matters: Saudi Arabia's PIF spent over $5bn since 2021 trying to reshape professional golf; the Chapter 11 filing effectively ends that era and hands leverage to players like Rahm, who holds a $7.5m unsecured claim. The new BC Partners-backed, player-owned model signals a leaner future — lower purses than the PGA Tour — meaning the Saudi-funded disruption experiment is being rebooted at a fraction of its original scale.
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