LIV Golf is fighting for its future, and the growing list of prominent players heading for the exits is making an already difficult situation considerably worse.
The Saudi-backed golf league’s original business model effectively collapsed when LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2026. Now, as its lavish contracts and enormous financial commitments give way to a proposed restructuring, the organization faces a daunting challenge: raising a reported $300 million while convincing some of professional golf’s biggest names to stay involved.
The proposed replacement, commonly called LIV Golf 2.0, would operate under a substantially different arrangement. Rather than relying on the massive guaranteed contracts that attracted major champions away from the PGA Tour, CEO Scott O’Neil’s restructuring plan would give players equity ownership in the league and its individual teams.
That approach depends heavily on retaining recognizable stars. Unfortunately for LIV, several of its most valuable players have already decided they want no part of the next chapter.
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka was among the first major departures, announcing his exit on December 23, 2025. Koepka cited his desire to spend more time near his family, and both sides agreed to terminate the final year of his contract. He subsequently returned to the PGA Tour through its temporary Returning Player program.
Patrick Reed followed on January 28, 2026, declining a new LIV contract after his original agreement expired. The 2018 Masters champion has since competed successfully on the DP World Tour, recording two victories in 2026 while reportedly targeting a PGA Tour return in 2027.
The departures accelerated dramatically in October.
Sergio Garcia, who captained LIV’s Fireballs team, received a formal release from his contract during an October 6 legal hearing in New Jersey. The decision cleared the way for Garcia to pursue opportunities elsewhere, including a potential return to regular competition on the DP World Tour.
Then came perhaps the most damaging development of all.
Jon Rahm, one of the most significant acquisitions in LIV Golf’s history, told the court through his attorney at an October 7 bankruptcy hearing that he had reviewed the proposed restructuring and had “no interest” in participating.
Rahm’s rejection represents a serious setback for LIV’s attempt to establish a viable second version of the league. His departure also raises questions about where the former Masters champion will compete next.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has indicated that the Returning Player program will not be reopened, potentially leaving the DP World Tour as Rahm’s most practical immediate option. Reports indicate that his formal separation agreement with LIV could be completed by mid-October.
Another Spanish player, David Puig, is also reportedly leaving. The 24-year-old former Arizona State standout joined LIV in 2022. He developed into one of its promising younger competitors, earning Breakout Star of the Year honors in 2025 and winning the BMW Australian PGA Championship that same year.
But the confirmed and reported departures may represent only the beginning.
Several additional players are either seeking releases or appear increasingly unlikely to participate in LIV Golf 2.0.
Poland’s Adrian Meronk reportedly won’t extend his agreement. After his victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in early October, Meronk said he intends to secure DP World Tour playing privileges for 2027. It was later reported that Meronk had no plans to renew his LIV contract, though no official announcement has been made.
Former Open champion Cameron Smith is another particularly important name to watch.
Smith initially declined an opportunity to return to the PGA Tour earlier this year, choosing instead to complete the 2026 LIV season. However, uncertainty surrounding the league’s restructuring appears to have complicated that decision.
“We don’t have all the answers. It’s hard to make a decision,” Smith told reporters in late September.
According to reports, Smith subsequently joined several players seeking contractual releases similar to the arrangement granted to Garcia. LIV reportedly asked for more time to consider his application.
Smith’s situation is especially significant because he leads Ripper GC, LIV’s Australian team. Fellow Ripper player Marc Leishman, a six-time PGA Tour winner who captured his first LIV individual title in Miami in 2025, is also reportedly seeking a release.
The group reportedly also includes Matthew Wolff, Byeong Hun An, Harold Varner III, and Cameron Tringale.
Wolff joined LIV in 2022 and eventually moved from Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC to Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats following tensions between the players. An, meanwhile, arrived as recently as January 2026 to captain the rebranded Korean Golf Club. His potential departure would bring a particularly short conclusion to one of LIV’s final notable signings under its original financial arrangement.
Varner, who won LIV Golf Washington D.C. in 2023 and has represented three different teams, is reportedly seeking an exit as well. Tringale, a member of HyFlyers GC, is also among those requesting releases.
While those developments suggest a substantial player exodus, three of LIV’s most recognizable remaining figures have yet to reveal definitive plans.
Joaquin Niemann faces an especially consequential decision. The Chilean has won nine individual titles over five LIV seasons, making him the league’s most successful individual competitor.
After his October victory at the Abierto de Chile, Niemann said he was weighing his options.
“The truth is, I’m still deciding what to do; whether I want to stay and believe in what’s happening in the league or go play more in Europe and from there try to get on the PGA Tour,” he told La Tercera.
Niemann said he expected to decide within a couple of weeks.
Bryson DeChambeau is another major uncertainty.
The two-time U.S. Open champion completed the 2026 season without announcing a new LIV agreement. Negotiations for another contract reportedly began when Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew its financial backing.
With his original deal expired, DeChambeau is now a free agent.
His decision could have considerable consequences for LIV Golf 2.0. DeChambeau brings major championship credentials and a substantial audience through his online golf content, including his recently completed Bryson’s Backyard Games competition, which offered a $100,000 winner-take-all prize.
It remains unclear whether he considers equity ownership in a financially distressed league an attractive alternative to his previous contract.
Phil Mickelson, one of LIV Golf’s original marquee signings, has likewise offered no clear indication of his future with the organization.
According to a TMZ report, Mickelson voluntarily entered rehabilitation in late September for treatment related to family trauma and addiction. The development followed earlier allegations of misconduct. Mickelson has not competed in a LIV event since March, when he finished 48th at LIV Golf South Africa.
His prolonged absence adds another question to the league’s already complicated rebuilding effort.
For LIV executives, the financial and personnel challenges are closely connected.
The proposed $300 million financing effort, reportedly involving private equity firm BC Partners, must support a business model that looks substantially different from the one that originally attracted players with enormous guaranteed payments.
Under O’Neil’s plan, player ownership would become central. But ownership stakes have limited appeal if prospective investors and participating golfers don’t trust the league’s financial future.
The departures of Rahm, Koepka, Reed and Garcia have already reduced the roster’s star power. Potential exits by Smith, Niemann, DeChambeau, and others could make the proposed relaunch even harder.
There is also a practical problem. LIV’s original appeal to many established professionals was financial certainty. Players received lucrative contracts regardless of whether the league ultimately became profitable. The proposed restructuring asks them to accept a different kind of financial risk, with the potential value of their equity tied to the organization’s future performance.
For players who still have competitive opportunities on the DP World Tour or potentially the PGA Tour, that is no small consideration.
As bankruptcy proceedings continue, LIV Golf faces two urgent, misaligned deadlines: securing the capital needed to keep operating and persuading enough recognizable professionals to commit before they pursue opportunities elsewhere.
Rahm has already delivered his answer. Koepka, Reed and Garcia have moved on. Others are requesting releases, while DeChambeau and Niemann remain undecided.
LIV Golf 2.0 may still find the financial backing necessary to launch, but the organization could emerge from bankruptcy without many of the players whose expensive contracts once defined it.
