LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday in New Jersey with more than US$500 million in debt, part of its goal to revive the league without Saudi funding. The move was widely expected after the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia abruptly ended its financial support this year. The final event was last month in Indiana. Four vendors already have filed lawsuits because they have not been paid. LIV said it has agreed to a restructuring plan with BC Partners as the primary source of its capital. “This process gives us the structure and time to pursue a landmark transaction and begin the next chapter of LIV Golf,” CEO Scott O’Neil said in a news release. O’Neil has said “LIV Golf 2.0” would feature players as majority owners in a reduced schedule. In a letter to LIV Golf fans, O’Neil said the new look would expand the size of the field from 57 to 75 players and introduce a 54-hole cut for the first time. There also would be Monday qualifiers. He said the team concept would be built around nationalities and that LIV would continue to tap some of its more successful markets in Australia, South Africa and Asia. Still, the new version would be a shell of what LIV promised when it launched in June 2022 after paying nine-figure signing bonuses to lure away top names from the PGA Tour. The excessive spending topped more than $5 billion before PIF said in April it was pulling the plug. Still to be determined is the future of the biggest stars still with LIV, most notably Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. Rahm is playing the Irish Open this week and told BBC Northern Ireland: “I still have a contract with LIV 1.0 that I’m more than willing to fulfill. Like I said, time will tell.” Rahm, DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith were the leading four creditors listed in the filing. Of the top 30 creditors LIV listed, 14 were players. The filing listed only the “unsecured claim” — Rahm led the list at nearly $7.5 million — and not the full amount owed. LIV listed between $100 million and $500 million in estimated assets, and $500 million and $1 billion in liabilities. The state of Louisiana is listed among the largest creditors at $1,220,000. LIV Golf postponed its event in Louisiana shortly after PIF announced it was ending its support. The Michigan event also was canceled, with the team championship merged into the final event in Indiana. Chapter 11 is commonly known as reorganization bankruptcy and generally allows the debtor to continue to operate the business, even borrowing new money under court approval. LIV Golf said the PIF has agreed to provide $49.6 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing through the DIP credit agreement, subject to the court’s approval. BC Partners L.P. — the credit business of UK-based BC Partners — and other minority investors that might emerge would provide the exit financing as LIV tries to keep going. LIV said it intends to emerge from bankruptcy and start its new version as early as 2027. “Now it is time to enter the next phase of LIV Golf,” O’Neil said in his letter. “Today, we took an important step forward to get there. LIV Golf has entered a court-supervised restructuring process that provides us with the time and framework to address previous financial obligations and complete a transaction that will make the League’s next phase a reality. “Put simply, this process is designed to build a stronger and more sustainable future for LIV Golf.” But so much depends on who stays. The PGA Tour has banned players for one year from their most recent LIV Golf appearance. Brooks Koepka was the first LIV player to return under penalty — a $5 million payment to charity, no equity grants for five years, no access to bonus money the year he returned. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp offered the same deal to Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith with a tight deadline to accept. None did, and three months later as the U.S.-Iran war took root, PIF pulled its funding and sent LIV Golf into a spiral. Rolapp has not been inclined to discuss any paths back while players are under contract. O’Neil said LIV Golf’s intention was to “complete, not compete,” a phrase that rankled more stable tours because of the disruption LIV Golf created under former CEO Greg Norman who felt players should be able to compete on any tour, while be required to play a full schedule on LIV. Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
