LIV Golf: $15.6 million for executives; suppliers are waiting for payment

In the months leading up to its bankruptcy filing, LIV Golf paid out approximately $15.6 million in retention bonuses to seven executives. This is according to court documents filed late Thursday evening, October 22, 2026, with the U.S. bankruptcy court in New Jersey, as reported by the AP news agency on Saturday. The payments were made between the announcement by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) that it would cease funding the league and the filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 8. CEO Scott O’Neil received the largest single payment: $6.375 million, transferred on June 24. The documents list payments that LIV Golf made prior to filing for bankruptcy. It is not known whether the court has ruled on whether the retention bonuses were permissible. No comment was initially available from LIV or its executives regarding the payments.

Scott O’Neil and two other executives received their payments on the same day

In addition to O’Neil, CFO David Phillipps and General Counsel John Ruzich also received retention bonuses on June 24: Phillipps received $3.37 million, and Ruzich received $2.6 million. Together with O’Neil’s payment, these three executives accounted for just over 12.3 million of the 15.6 million U.S. dollars. O’Neil had also already received a bonus of 2.7 million U.S. dollars on February 13.

The documents also list 129 payments to creditors made in the 90 days prior to the bankruptcy filing. In addition, they detail payments to the league’s top players that were made over an extended period: Jon Rahm received $26 million in the year leading up to the filing. Bryson DeChambeau, with approximately $13.9 million, and Dustin Johnson, with $10.7 million, are also listed. Cameron Smith and Bubba Watson each received approximately $2.5 million. Just under a year before the filing, on September 26, 2025, Greg Norman—who had stepped down as CEO in January 2025—received a settlement payment of $5.8 million as well as a bonus of $3.6 million.

Mobbi, Fresh Tape, and Jerry Foltz: Those Waiting for Their Money

On the other hand, there are service providers whose invoices, according to the documents, remain unpaid. Mobbi Systems Group, responsible for the “Any Shot, Any Time” feature, is waiting for more than one million U.S. dollars. Fresh Tape Media, which organized the preseason media days in January, is demanding 1.2 million U.S. dollars and has sued LIV for 1.23 million, including interest. The copyright collection society ASCAP is listed in the books with $178,087.50, and TV commentator Jerry Foltz with $35,416.66. Foltz’s outstanding claim thus amounts to less than one percent of the $6.375 million that O’Neil received on June 24—the same day as Phillipps and Ruzich.

At the press conference ahead of the season finale in Indianapolis on August 19, O’Neil was asked whether LIV would settle the outstanding bills. “I hope so,” he replied. Referring to the affected companies, he said at the finale in August, according to the AP: “We’re doing everything we can to do the right thing by them.” At the same time, O’Neil left open the question of what the future holds for the league: “I don’t think we’d rule out any option,” he said when asked about bankruptcy. He described the talks with investor BC Partners as “well on the way to a transaction.” Regarding the league’s future, he said, according to the AP: “For the next generation, it will certainly be a different business with a different process.”

The league’s own workforce has also been affected: In early September, LIV laid off 289 employees, about 90 percent of its staff.

From the PIF’s Withdrawal to Chapter 11 Proceedings

In April 2026 , the PIF announced that it would no longer finance LIV Golf after the 2026 season. Since the league’s launch in 2022, the sovereign wealth fund had invested more than $5 billion; in June, a secured loan of $495 million was added. On September 8, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey; Judge Michael B. Kaplan is presiding over the proceedings, with debts totaling more than $500 million. Even back then, Rahm, DeChambeau, Johnson, and Smith were at the top of the list of creditors, as greenfeed.news reported at the time of the bankruptcy filing.

The league is set to be rescued by a total of $300 million in financing from BC Partners, which still needs to be approved by the bankruptcy court. The players are to hold a 52.5 percent stake in the league and a combined 30 percent stake in their teams, while BC Partners will receive the right to its own expansion team. “Our goal is to guide LIV Golf out of the restructuring process on a solid financial footing,” said Ted Goldthorpe, Credit Partner and Head of Credit at BC Partners, as reported by Golfmagic. “We want the players who make up this league to share in what they are helping to build.”

The condition for this is that at least half of the players with financial claims against LIV must join the new league, and these players must collectively hold at least two-thirds of the total value of all player claims. The restructuring agreement filed on October 5 also requires new player contracts in line with the business plan for LIV 2.0, covering the players specified by BC Partners. For details on the deal, read our report on the $300 million financing round.

LIV 2.0 with Smaller Prize Money—and Fewer Stars

The new league would be significantly smaller. At least ten tournaments are planned—five in a team format and five in an individual format—with prize money of around $9 million, down from the previous $20 million for individual events. Several players are already turning their backs on LIV, including Rahm, who agreed to part ways with LIV on October 16, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Adrian Meronk, and David Puig. Thomas Pieters and Charles Howell III also plan to join the DP World Tour in 2027. The DP World Tour will not grant conditional membership for 2027 to players who sign with LIV 2.0.

Deadline on October 25, hearing on November 5

The deadline by which enough players must commit to participating expired this Sunday, October 25. It had previously been postponed from October 13 to October 25 and has now been extended again; this decision was made by BC Partners. By the end of October, it should be clear how many players have committed to continuing the Tour. The next hearing before the bankruptcy court is scheduled for November 5. For players who want to return to the DP World Tour, the application deadline for membership is November 16.