LIV Golf and its related entities voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey on 8 September, court filings show, capping a five-month slide that saw events cancelled, staff laid off and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund end the equity infusions it had poured into the project since its 2021 launch, put at approximately $5 billion in total.
The petition lists between $100 million and $500 million in assets against $500 million to $1 billion in liabilities. LIV has signed a restructuring support agreement with BC Partners Credit that would inject $300 million across three instruments: a $127.5 million first-lien term loan, $147.5 million of senior preferred and $25 million of subordinated convertible preferred. The PIF is providing a $49.6 million debtor-in-possession loan to keep operations running through the process, then exiting the tour as a backer.
McIlroy predicts an exodus
Rory McIlroy, the most vocal critic of the breakaway from inside the PGA Tour ecosystem, addressed the filing at the Amgen Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg on Wednesday.
“I am not trying to predict the future, but I would predict that you will see some guys leave, as they are free to now as, I guess, contracts have been breached by them filing for bankruptcy,” McIlroy told reporters.
Read also: Leclerc breaks silence after Ferrari meeting
The Northern Irishman argued that open golf, and the DP World Tour in particular, stands to gain from a return of the defectors.
“I think that means other tours have decisions to make, and obviously there’s a lot of players on LIV that can strengthen golf tournaments and make them more competitive, so I would see that as a good thing for the DP World Tour. Overall, I think with the way things are working out, it is a very good thing for the golf ecosystem.”
He was also sceptical that the reorganised project can match the terms that lured players away when the tour launched.
“I’m not in their shoes, but LIV at the start looked a lot more attractive than what LIV 2.0 might be from a financial standpoint,” McIlroy said.
Read also: Hull City mark their Premier League return
Rahm and DeChambeau top the creditor list
The filing lists players still owed on their multi-year LIV contracts as unsecured creditors. Reporting on the schedule of the 30 largest unsecured claims names the biggest ones as:
- Jon Rahm: nearly $7.5 million
- Bryson DeChambeau: more than $5.7 million
- Dustin Johnson: $5.5 million
- Cameron Smith: $4.8 million
- Tyrrell Hatton: $3.4 million
- Brooks Koepka: $1.7 million
LIV had already called off a June tournament in New Orleans and cancelled its planned $40 million season-ender in Michigan, leaving Indianapolis as the 2026 finale about a week earlier than the original schedule. A round of layoffs across the US and UK operations followed in early September.
35 days for players to commit
The BC Partners deal is contingent on a “requisite number” of players, defined in the filings as at least two-thirds by claim value and half by number of eligible claims, signing on with the reorganised tour within 35 days of the petition date. That deadline falls in mid-October, with the plan contemplating a majority-player-owned tour on the other side of the process.
Read also: Trump takes the helicopter route to Doonbeg as Dublin's anti-Trump march heads for the Dáil
Read also: Trump said his convention outdrew NFL Kickoff. Fox News averaged 2.5 million
