Jon Rahm Reveals Why He Rejected LIV Golf's Collapse

LIV Golf to liquidate assets and wind down operations as plans to launch LIV 2.0 fall apart.

On Thursday, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey, lawyers representing LIV Golf announced they would be moving their Chapter 11 case from a restructuring phase to a liquidation phase.

The league is preparing to sell its remaining assets and ultimately shut down after five years and $5 billion in investment.

"We believe the wind down path is the best path," LIV attorney Matthew Williams told the court during a hearing that lasted just 13 minutes.

The decision was made after BC Partners, a private capital firm, withdrew its bid to relaunch the league in 2027.

BC Partners had agreed last month to pay as much as $300 million to fund what was being promoted as LIV 2.0.

But after delaying a player commitment deadline, LIV and BC Partners had not finalized agreements with enough golfers to satisfy the company to move forward with the investment.

"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," the company 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."

Multiple reports say that LIV had secured the signing of more than 30 players for 2027.

Ten more players were reportedly interested, including some marquee names.

But they did not offer their commitment by the October 25 deadline.

When news broke Wednesday that BC Partners was pulling out, some players reportedly asked to come back to the negotiating table.

BC Partners decided it was too late.

Jon Rahm was one of the biggest names who had already decided to leave.

Rahm agreed to forfeit all claims against LIV — said to be worth some $100 million — to get out of his contract.

He is back to playing the European tour, with hopes there will be a path back to the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour currently has a one-year ban dating to players' last LIV appearance.

Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton and Louis Oosthuizen also were not interested in staying, according to reports.

Brooks Koepka, another major golf name that had signed with LIV, opted to return to the PGA Tour.

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

LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 8.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which had bankrolled LIV, announced earlier this year that it would yank funding for the league after the 2026 season.

The PIF had sunk more than $5 billion into LIV since its launch in 2022.

LIV Golf paid $15.6 million to retain seven of its executives, including $6.375 million to CEO Scott O'Neil, in the months between the PIF cutting funding and the bankruptcy filing.

Those payments are not unusual for a company trying to emerge from bankruptcy.

The question now is whether those payments can be voided since LIV is not going forward.

In a statement from LIV Golf, CEO Scott O'Neil said: "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."

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

LIV suffered two big setbacks before and after filing for bankruptcy.

The Asian Tour, which 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 in Europe.

Then, European tour CEO Guy Kinnings last month said anyone signing up for LIV 2.0 needed to understand the consequences.

A creditors committee will meet on November 20.

A formal liquidation plan will need to be approved by the court, with the priority being paying creditors from the tour's assets.

Lawyers said the official wind-down process will begin by next Monday.

The rebel league launched in 2022 and immediately shook up the professional golf world by offering massive guaranteed contracts.

It lured top players away from the PGA Tour with signing bonuses that reached into the hundreds of millions.

Rahm's original contract was reported to be worth over $300 million.

The league's format was different: 54-hole events with no cuts and a team component.

It broadcast on the CW network and later on its own streaming platform.

But viewership never matched the hype, and the league never secured a major television rights deal.

The financial model depended entirely on Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth.