South Australia sets terms for LIV Adelaide as LIV hires Mark King

South Australia will not stage LIV Golf Adelaide at Kooyonga in March without a field like those of the past four years, Premier Peter Malinauskas told SEN radio. “It’s very important to us they keep the likes of Cam Smith and Bryson DeChambeau in that playing roster,” he said. Neither has said whether he will play in LIV 2.0, the relaunched league; court filings show Cameron Smith has asked to be released from his contract.

Malinauskas said LIV had assured the government it would be back in 2027. “We’re not going to go through with LIV unless they put on the standard of event they have put on in the past,” he added. In May he said the state’s contract protected it: “We don’t pay anything if they don’t play and put on a great show.” He said he expected an answer on Adelaide after 2 November, which he called a critical date for the restructuring. LIV Adelaide is scheduled for Kooyonga from 18 to 21 March 2027, and the league’s agreement with the state runs to at least 2031, according to Australian Golf Digest.

Jon Rahm, who finished three shots behind Anthony Kim at The Grange this year, is one of more than a dozen players who have said they are leaving LIV. The league has not said which players signed before its 25 October deadline.

LIV announced on Monday that Mark King will join as a senior adviser and will recruit and chair a new advisory board. King became president of TaylorMade in 1999 and chief executive in 2002, and the company’s sales grew from US$300 million to more than US$1.85 billion under him, according to Golfweek. Since May he has been executive chairman and interim chief executive of Jack in the Box. Golfweek recalls that King was reported in 2022 to be LIV’s choice to replace Greg Norman as chief executive; Norman kept the job until Scott O’Neil succeeded him.

Ted Goldthorpe of BC Partners, whose fund has offered up to US$300 million for LIV 2.0, called the hire an important step towards a 2027 season. LIV’s next hearing in the US Bankruptcy Court is on 5 November, according to Reuters.

Sources

• GolfMagic: LIV Golf sent warning over Australia event
• Golf Australia: LIV Adelaide on the brink as major champ joins player exodus
• Australian Golf Digest: LIV Golf’s latest signing turns heads as clock ticks on its proposed 2027 relaunch
• Golfweek via Yahoo Sports: LIV Golf tabs former TaylorMade CEO as senior advisor
• Reuters via Devdiscourse: LIV Golf appoints former TaylorMade CEO Mark King as senior adviser
• Golf Monthly: LIV Golf remains “on track” for new era after key hire
• The Nightly (AAP): South Australian premier told LIV Golf will continue (May 2026)
• Wikipedia: LIV Golf Adelaide