LIV Golf paid executives $15.6 million before bankruptcy, court records reveal

New US bankruptcy-court filings have revealed the scale of executive payments made by LIV Golf as the breakaway circuit struggled with its finances. Documents filed on October 22, 2026, in New Jersey show that seven senior executives received a combined $15.6 million in retention payments before LIV sought bankruptcy protection. Associated Press, ESPN and Golf Digest independently reported the figures.

Who received the money? LIV chief executive Scott O'Neil received the largest payment: $6.375 million on June 24, 2026. He had also received a separate bonus of approximately $2.7 million on February 13. According to the filings, O'Neil's total payroll, bonuses, benefits, reimbursements and retention payments exceeded $13.6 million between September 2025 and August 2026. Chief financial officer David Phillipps received about $3.37 million in retention compensation, while chief legal officer John Ruzich received around $2.6 million. Those payments form part of the overall $15.6 million figure; they are not additional to it.

The unpaid-bills question. At the same time, several contractors were pursuing claims against the tour. Mobbi Systems Group is seeking more than $1 million over technology used to show shots during broadcasts, while Fresh Tape Media claims roughly $1.2 million for work on LIV's preseason media events. These are claims in legal proceedings, not final judicial findings about what is owed. The filings also disclose sizeable player payments, including $26 million to Jon Rahm during the year before the bankruptcy petition. Retention awards are not inherently unlawful: troubled companies sometimes use them to keep essential employees through a restructuring.

How did LIV get here? Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund announced in April 2026 that it would end further backing for the project. LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 protection on September 8, a US process designed to give a business an opportunity to reorganise under court supervision. That filing did not automatically close the league. PIF had previously invested more than $5 billion in LIV since the circuit's 2022 launch, illustrating the financial challenge of moving to a new model.

The LIV 2.0 proposal. BC Partners Credit has offered financing of up to $300 million for a potential relaunch. The proposed business would stage at least ten events, place greater emphasis on team competition and reduce individual tournament purses from about $20 million to roughly $9 million. The financing plan depends in part on securing commitments from enough players. Several established stars, including Rahm, Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen, have announced departures or plans to leave.

What happens next? The next hearing in LIV's bankruptcy case is scheduled for November 5, 2026. Beyond the court process, the tour must settle on funding, handle creditor claims and retain enough competitors to sustain its teams. Neither a successful relaunch nor a shutdown has been definitively decided.

Sources: Associated Press, October 24; ESPN, October 23; Golf Digest, October 23. Photograph: archival image of Paul Casey playing at LIV Golf Bedminster on July 29, 2022, by JazzyJoeyD (Joe Schilp), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. It does not depict the executives or the court proceedings.