DeChambeau backs LIV 2.0 and blames its parent company

Bryson DeChambeau’s team made almost $29 million in revenue last year and spent about $21 million on player payments, expenses and travel, leaving about $8 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, he said on Raj Shamani’s Figuring Out podcast. The figures are for his Crushers GC side, according to EssentiallySports. DeChambeau, who had not spoken publicly about LIV Golf’s relaunch, said the parent company had not been run effectively and that when it went bankrupt the player payments were pushed down to the teams.

He wants to stay for LIV 2.0. “This is going to be a league, hopefully, that exists forever,” he said. “It’s not combative. We’re not trying to compete against the Tour.” Under the restructuring plan backed by BC Partners Credit, which has offered up to $300 million, players would own 52.5% of the league. “We’re not really getting paid, but we do have the governance,” DeChambeau said of the new terms.

The podcast came out at the end of October, as the original deadlines for players to commit passed. An amended restructuring agreement approved by the bankruptcy court in New Jersey no longer sets a hard deadline for players to decide, the Associated Press reports. Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia have court-approved separations from LIV, and Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Tom McKibbin and Adrian Meronk have said they are leaving.

DeChambeau is one of the players represented in the case by Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a law firm that is itself being wound down after partners left and merger talks failed. The players are not expected to need new lawyers, according to GolfMagic. The next hearing before Judge Michael Kaplan is scheduled for 5 November.

Sources

• GolfMagic: Bryson DeChambeau breaks silence on LIV Golf bankruptcy
• EssentiallySports via Yahoo Sports: Bryson DeChambeau breaks silence on LIV 2.0
• Associated Press via The Manila Times: LIV Golf faces uncertain future as players flee
• GolfMagic: Law firm representing Bryson DeChambeau’s LIV Golf player group set to wind down
• Front Office Sports via Yahoo Sports: LIV Golf hangs on by a thread as clock ticks on future