Less than five years after it held its first event and created a schism in professional golf, LIV Golf has filed for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey, United States. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy, or reorganisation bankruptcy, filed on Tuesday, allows the debtor to remain in possession and operate its business, according to US Courts. The move offers a rare window into the league’s financial state, with LIV Golf owing between $500m and $1bn in estimated liabilities to at least 1,000 creditors, including star players like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. The filing listed several other high-profile golfers as creditors still owed millions in unsecured claims.
Spaniard Rahm has the largest claim among players at $7.5m, followed by DeChambeau ($5.7m), Dustin Johnson ($5.5m), Cameron Smith of Australia ($4.8m), Tyrrell Hatton of England ($3.4m) and Brooks Koepka ($1.7m). Koepka left the league at the start of 2026. The bankruptcy filing was widely expected after LIV axed the majority of its staff earlier this month and scrapped its season-ending team championship in August after losing the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Since LIV’s launch in 2022, PIF had poured an estimated $5bn into the tour before abruptly pulling the plug.
The PIF will now provide a loan worth nearly $50m for the bankruptcy and reorganisation process, the LIV statement showed. LIV’s decision to file for bankruptcy is not a sign that it is dissolving, but rather a step towards restructuring and continuing the PGA Tour competitor under a new business plan. Tour officials have previously pledged that a “2.0” version of the tour will re-emerge under new investors next season, with a shorter schedule and reduced prize money. CEO Scott O’Neil published a letter to fans addressing the filing. “Now it is time to enter the next phase of LIV Golf,” he wrote. “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.” O’Neil went on to say LIV intends to continue staging events in some of its more popular international destinations – Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Hong Kong and England among them. The league also will seek to continue playing in the US. “The next phase of LIV Golf will be built around a sustainable business model and deeper alignment between players and the League, with team golf at its core,” O’Neil wrote. “Players will have the opportunity to share directly in the value they help create, while teams will be positioned to grow into enduring global sports businesses. And fans will remain at the centre of everything we do.” But much will depend on whether top stars, including DeChambeau and Rahm, remain.
Widespread reports have linked several LIV stars with potential returns to the PGA Tour and other series, though the PGA said it currently has no plans to offer LIV players a pathway back. The filing confirmed LIV has partnered for the restructuring effort with British investment group BC Partners.
