LIV Golf Files For Bankruptcy After Saudi Backers Withdraw Funding

LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey on Tuesday, carrying more than $500 million in debt following the abrupt exit of its Saudi financial backers.

LIV Golf Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in New Jersey

The upstart golf circuit that spent more than $5 billion attempting to reshape professional golf has hit a financial wall. Following the sudden withdrawal of support from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, listing liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion against estimated assets of $100 million to $500 million.

The downfall arrived swiftly after Saudi backers pulled funding following the conclusion of the 2026 season in Indiana, which ended one week ahead of schedule in August. Four vendors already have filed lawsuits because they have not been paid. For a league that launched in June 2022 after paying nine-figure signing bonuses to lure away top names from the PGA Tour, the bankruptcy marks a dramatic contraction of its lavish financial model. Officials at LIV Golf, initially backed by Saudi investors, remain hopeful that Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm will help rebuild the bankrupt circuit as a slimmed-down, player-owned league.

Unsecured Creditors and Million-Dollar Debts Owed to Players and Creators

United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey Creditor List

The bankruptcy filings reveal a massive trail of unsecured debt, with as many as 5,000 creditors included. According to documentation filed by LIV in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, there are 24 people and entities listed owed more than $1 million. USA Today reported 27 names on the list are owed a combined $64.2 million.

LIV Golf Files For Bankruptcy After Saudi Backers Withdraw Funding — Photo: businessinsider.com

Jon Rahm is owed $7.4 million—the highest figure of any creditor. Other prominent players on the list include Bryson DeChambeau ($5.8 million), Dustin Johnson ($5.5 million), and Cameron Smith. Rick Shiels Media, the company run by Shiels, a golf instructor turned YouTuber who now has over 3 million subscribers on his main channel, is owed $1.4 million in unsecured debts.

State Incentives and Public Funds Entangled in the Collapse

Louisiana Economic Development and New Orleans Tournament Funding Clawback

Beyond individual player contracts and media debts, government entities are also caught in the fallout. Louisiana is among LIV’s largest creditors.

The New Orleans LIV Golf tournament had been announced to great fanfare for City Park’s Bayou Oaks Golf Course by state officials Gov. Jeff Landry and Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois only to be canceled in April amid questions about the league’s financial future. To attract the event, the state offered LIV a $7.2 million incentive package to be funded from the state’s major event fund. The controversial deal included a $5 million “hosting fee” for LIV — to be paid in increments ahead of the event — and $2.2 million for City Park to pay for upgrades to the course, most of which were completed. After the event was canceled, the state said LIV would repay the $1 million it had already received, per a clawback provision in its contract with the state, and would not be eligible to receive the other $4 million, Bourgeois said. Reached by phone Tuesday evening, Emma Wagner, a spokesperson for LED, said the $1 million has not been repaid. Wagner said LED and LIV Golf are in formal discussions.

Restructuring Plans for LIV Golf 2.0 and Uncertain Player Commitments

BC Partners Capital and CEO Scott O’Neil Restructuring Plan

To survive the restructuring, LIV said it has agreed to a restructuring plan with BC Partners as the primary source of its capital, entering a deal designed to preserve the company's business as a going concern through an innovative player-first ownership model. Additionally, the PIF, the Saudi wealth fund that financed LIV, has agreed to provide $49.6 million in debtor-in-possession financing to repay creditors and keep it afloat.

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.