Jon Rahm Finally Admits Why He Quit LIV Golf for Good

LIV Golf is officially dead after bankruptcy court reveal.

Lawyers for the rebel golf league announced in a New Jersey bankruptcy court Thursday that they are abandoning all plans to restructure.

Instead, the league will move directly into a full liquidation phase.

“The debtors are not currently proceeding with the LIV 2.0 plan,” attorney Matthew Williams of Gibson Dunn told the court.

“Instead, the debtors are toggling to a value-maximizing wind-down in their business.”

The hearing lasted just 13 minutes.

It marked the end of a five-year, $5 billion experiment that shook professional golf to its core.

LIV Golf launched in 2022 with massive financial backing from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The league lured top players away from the PGA Tour with enormous guaranteed contracts.

Jon Rahm signed a deal reportedly worth more than $300 million.

Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson were among the other major names who joined.

But the financial model never worked.

PIF had been bankrolling the entire operation, spending over $5 billion since launch.

Earlier this year, PIF announced it would cut off funding after the 2026 season.

That decision forced LIV to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 8, 2026.

The league thought it had found a lifeline.

BC Partners Credit, a private capital firm, agreed to invest up to $300 million to fund a restructured version of the league — tentatively called LIV 2.0.

The plan was to relaunch in 2027 with a more sustainable financial model.

But the deal fell apart.

“BC Partners Credit supported a transaction that aligned the interests of players and investors, offering a credible path toward building a sustainable future for LIV Golf,” BC Partners said in a statement.

“While there was great support for the league, we are disappointed that mutually acceptable terms could not be reached among the various stakeholders.”

The core problem was player commitment.

LIV had reportedly secured more than 30 players for the 2027 season.

Another 10 players had expressed interest but had not made a final decision.

An October 25 deadline was set for players to commit.

When the deadline passed, several key players still had not signed.

Among those who walked away were Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, and Louis Oosthuizen.

Brooks Koepka had already opted to return to the PGA Tour.

Only four players — Cameron Tringale, Richard Bland, Ben Campbell, and Brendan Steele — had publicly stated they would return for 2027.

On Wednesday night, as news broke that BC Partners was pulling out, some players reportedly tried to return to the negotiating table.

BC Partners turned them down.

The firm decided it was too late to revive the deal.

Jon Rahm's departure was particularly significant.

He was the biggest name still tied to LIV after the earlier departures of Mickelson and DeChambeau.

Rahm had been the face of the league's future.

To get out of his contract, Rahm agreed to forfeit all claims against LIV — claims that were said to be worth approximately $100 million.

He is now back playing on the European tour.

He has expressed hope that there will be a path back to the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour currently has a one-year ban dating from a player's last LIV appearance.

It remains unclear whether that ban will be lifted for former LIV players.

LIV Golf's CEO Scott O'Neil released a statement after the court hearing.

“Building a global platform designed to bring new, younger, and more diverse fans to the sport of golf has been the round of a lifetime for all of us,” O'Neil said.

“LIV Golf was fun, demanding, inspiring, at times challenging — but always rewarding.”

The league's collapse has also raised questions about executive compensation.

Court records show that LIV Golf paid $15.6 million to retain seven of its executives in the months between PIF cutting funding and the bankruptcy filing.

That includes $6.375 million paid to CEO Scott O'Neil.

Such retention payments are common when a company is trying to emerge from bankruptcy.

But with the league now heading into liquidation, creditors may challenge whether those payments should be voided.

LIV suffered two other major setbacks in its final months.

First, the Asian Tour — which had received financial support from LIV for an International Series — decided in July to renew an alliance with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.

That cut off LIV's pipeline into Asian markets.

Second, European tour CEO Guy Kinnings said last month that anyone signing up for LIV 2.0 would not be welcome back on the European tour.

That statement discouraged several European players from committing to the new league.

The liquidation process will begin next Monday.

A formal liquidation plan must be approved by the bankruptcy court.

The priority will be paying creditors from whatever assets remain.

A creditors committee meeting is scheduled for November 20.

The court will oversee the sale of any remaining assets.

LIV Golf's broadcast rights, equipment, and intellectual property could be sold off.

It is unclear how much value remains in the league's assets.

The league spent $5 billion over five years with very little revenue.

LIV never secured a major U.S. television deal.

Its events were streamed online and broadcast on smaller networks.

Attendance at LIV events was often sparse.

The league's team format never gained the traction that organizers had hoped for.

For the players who stayed with LIV until the end, the future is uncertain.

Many signed multi-year contracts that are now essentially void.

Some players may attempt to return to the PGA Tour.