LIV accuses DP World Tour of 'clear attempt to interfere' in court hearing

LIV Golf accused the DP World Tour of a "clear attempt to interfere" with its court-supervised restructuring during a hearing at the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court on Wednesday, 14 October 2026. The allegation followed the European tour's announcement that it would refuse membership to anyone playing on the breakaway circuit next season.

LIV is undergoing a court-supervised restructuring after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in September when Saudi Arabia withdrew its multibillion-dollar funding. The organisation is attempting to complete its reorganisation in early 2027, and under the process player contracts have been rejected so no players are obligated to remain with LIV. LIV also owes its participants at least $45m (£33m), the court was told.

Rob Fitzgerald of Gibson Dunn, the attorney representing LIV, told the court: "We're continuing to monitor this situation very closely and we're quite concerned by it frankly." He added: "The timing in particular strikes us as a clear attempt to interfere with our process with our players and potentially our reorganisation writ large. It also raises a lot of the same anti-competitive concerns that LIV has expressed previously regarding the way competing leagues have sought to box out and punish market participants, namely these players, from participating in LIV and really only LIV." DP World Tour declined to comment on Fitzgerald's statement, but its CEO Guy Kinnings told BBC Sport on Monday that "players need to make a choice."

Fitzgerald described player movement as central to the proposed LIV relaunch, saying: "Player freedom is the reason LIV Golf was created, and it's the foundation of LIV Golf 2.0, a league built around its players." He added: "LIV has been vocal in its belief in free agency and that the best players should have greater flexibility to compete across the ecosystem. It's unfortunate that another tour is taking an opposite view and pressuring our players with false choice."

Judge Michael B. Kaplan, overseeing the proceedings, responded: "The comments I have read do raise concerns." Fitzgerald outlined two conditions he described as critical to LIV 2.0: structural investment from BC Partners and "sufficient number of players to have a bona fide golf league signed up by 25th of this month." He told the court: "We would anticipate that decision will be made by the end of the month."

Fitzgerald also warned of immediate operational steps if LIV 2.0 is confirmed, saying: "Once we have full clarity on LIV 2.0, the debtors will need to very shortly begin making payments to host sites, vendors and other parties, so that we can schedule and prepare for LIV 2.0 events that we anticipate will take place shortly following the emergence." During Wednesday's hearing, 19 player contracts — including those of Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson — were rejected after being adjourned from a hearing last week because those players wanted clarity that contract rejection would enable them to have conversations with third parties about their futures.

Players who have returned to traditional tours gave differing responses. Current Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed, who left LIV in January and rejoined the European Tour, said he was accepted "from day one" after his return and added: "This year fully playing on this tour only has been something I've really enjoyed and I feel like the guys have enjoyed having me come over and playing. I don't feel any different. I feel like the guys have accepted me from day one. I can see how some of the guys would sit there and have an issue with guys coming over and just playing the big events. I've come over and played everything from big events, small events, events in the middle. I feel like it hasn't been any different for me." Six-time major winner Rory McIlroy said LIV was in "such a state of flux" and that the DP World Tour had been "more than accommodating"; he added: "The DP World Tour are well within their rights to change the rules and regulations. This is a way to protect their business and to make the tour as strong as possible." On Tuesday he told Bloomberg he would vote to have LIV Golf defectors back on the PGA Tour and believed the breakaway circuit was no longer a threat to traditional tours.

Fitzgerald told the court LIV expects to reach a decision on whether it can relaunch as LIV 2.0 by the end of the month, and said that once that clarity exists the debtors must begin payments so events can be scheduled and prepared "shortly following the emergence." The timing of that decision will determine whether and when LIV can proceed with planned events under its proposed reorganisation.