LIV Golf files for bankruptcy as it moves toward a more sustainable future

LIV Golf 2.0 wants to start with a clean slate.On Tuesday, the rebel golf league announced it filed for bankruptcy, its latest move toward a fresh start after losing billions of dollars in Saudi Arabian backing.“Now it is time to enter the next phase of LIV Golf,” CEO Scott O’Neil wrote in a statement posted to the tour’s website.“Today, we took an important step forward to get there.

LIV Golf has entered a court-supervised restructuring process that provides us with the time and framework to address previous financial obligations and complete a transaction that will make the League’s next phase a reality.“Put simply, this process is designed to build a stronger and more sustainable future for LIV Golf.”LIV Golf intends to return for the 2027 season with multiple international stops, though that will be subject to court and stakeholder approval, and the details of what that season will look like have yet to be revealed.Neither has the new lead investor O’Neil announced he’d secured in August.Also not clear is the status of the high-paid roster of players, who have reportedly been offered exits from their contracts — at a significant discount.Last month, the “majority” of US and UK staffers were laid off.Whenever it makes its comeback, O’Neil plans to introduce an expanded field of 75 golfers with qualifiers and cuts.LIV golf exploded onto the scene as a direct competitor to the PGA Tour in 2022, offering massive guaranteed contracts to the likes of Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and several other of the game’s biggest stars, funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to the tune of a reported $5 billion.It featured shorter, 54-hole tournaments with big prize purses and a more relaxed atmosphere designed to bring in fans.There were plans for LIV and the PGA Tour to merge in 2023 that never came to fruition.Things went further awry in April when the PIF pulled its funding, leaving O’N...