LIV Golf paid $15 million to retain executives before filing for bankruptcy, court records show
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 Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund saying it was ending financial backing and LIV filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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 Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund saying it was ending financial backing and LIV filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Key points
- LIV Golf is trying to emerge from bankruptcy without the financial muscle of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
- The payments are part of a trove of documents filed late Thursday in U.S.
- Another payment in the previous year was to Greg Norman.
What happened
In practice, the payments are part of a trove of documents filed late Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. That included 129 payments to creditors in the 90 days before LIV's bankruptcy filing and $26 million to Jon Rahm in the year before the Sept. 8 filing.
Another payment in the previous year was to Greg Norman. This person left as LIV's first CEO in January 2025. He was paid a $5.8 million settlement and a $3.6 million bonus on Sept. 26, 2025.
LIV Golf is trying to emerge from bankruptcy without the financial muscle of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. It spent upward of $5 billion since the rival league introduced in June 2022 and offered nine-figure bonuses to top PGA and European tour players.
The bottom line
Taken together, the developments around LIV Golf paid $15 million to retain executives before filing for bankruptcy, point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.
