LIV Golf confirms wind-down in court; next hearing 24 November

LIV Golf will file a new Chapter 11 plan on Monday to close the league. Matthew Williams, a Gibson Dunn partner acting for LIV, told Judge Michael Kaplan in the US Bankruptcy Court in Trenton, New Jersey, on Thursday that “the debtors are toggling to a value-maximizing wind down of their business.”

Williams said the decision was taken that morning, after LIV failed to get all the main parties to agree a deal. The league said its restructuring support agreement with BC Partners Credit had been terminated. BC Partners had dropped its $300 million offer to fund LIV 2.0 a day earlier, and said on Thursday it was disappointed that the stakeholders could not agree terms.

LIV’s strategic initiative committee “can and will revisit this decision” if circumstances change, Williams told the court, and the league said it would still consider offers from third parties while it winds down. A few hours before the hearing, Front Office Sports’ David Rumsey quoted a source close to BC Partners as saying the firm was “not out completely”, but would not go ahead under this version of the deal. When BC Partners pulled out, about 30 players had committed to LIV for 2027 and about ten more were considering it, according to a source quoted by ESPN.

The wind-down plan still needs the court’s approval. LIV’s creditors’ committee meets on Friday 20 November and the next hearing is on Tuesday 24 November, Golf Channel reports. In its Chapter 11 petition of 8 September, LIV listed assets of $100 million to $500 million and liabilities of $500 million to $1 billion. The creditors range from players to suppliers, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has put more than $5 billion into the league since 2022, is listed as a priority creditor. Jodi Balsam, a professor at Brooklyn Law School, told Golf Channel that LIV appears to lack the assets to cover its debts.

Eligible LIV players have until Monday 16 November, four days before the creditors’ committee meets, to take up 2027 DP World Tour membership. Lee Westwood is among those deciding, and would face a ten-tournament suspension if he rejoined. Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Sergio Garcia have already said they will play on the DP World Tour in 2027. Bryson DeChambeau has one year left on his option to take up DP World Tour membership, Sky Sports reports; in October his camp asked about extra starts on that tour. Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson have no such option. Under PGA TOUR rules, a returning player must wait a year from his last LIV start, and LIV’s last event was in August.

LIV Adelaide, at Kooyonga from 18 to 21 March, is still on the league’s 2027 calendar.

Sources

• ESPN: LIV Golf calls it quits, to shutter league without financial support for 2.0 model
• Golf Channel: LIV Golf announces plan for liquidation, marking end of league
• Front Office Sports: LIV Golf is shutting down, lawyers confirm in bankruptcy hearing
• Sky Sports: LIV Golf scraps plans to launch LIV 2.0 and winds down operations
• Associated Press via Ottumwa Courier: LIV Golf is winding down operations, lawyer says in bankruptcy hearing
• EssentiallySports via Yahoo Sports: LIV players rush back to BC Partners as firm says it’s “not out completely”
• CBS Sports: LIV Golf closes its doors, sorting out futures of its stars