NEW JERSEY — LIV Golf has accused the DP World Tour of a "clear attempt to interfere" with its court-supervised restructuring process after the European tour said it would refuse membership to anyone playing on the breakaway circuit next season. The claim was made during a hearing on Wednesday in the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court, where LIV is navigating Chapter 11 protection.
Rob Fitzgerald of Gibson Dunn, the attorney representing LIV, told Judge Michael B. Kaplan the organization was "quite concerned" by the DP World Tour's stance. "We're continuing to monitor this situation very closely and we're quite concerned by it frankly," Fitzgerald said. "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 CEO Guy Kinnings told BBC Sport on Monday that "players need to make a choice," toughening the policy on playing across tours. In previous years, conditional releases were struck with top players including Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton to allow them to play both tours.
Fitzgerald said LIV would know by the end of the month whether it can continue as 'LIV 2.0,' outlining two critical pieces: structural investment from BC Partners and having a "sufficient number of players to have a bona fide golf league signed up by 25th of this month." He added, "We are working hard around the clock both on the player front and on the structural front." Asked when he could advise the court whether LIV was "toggling to a wind-down" or moving forward, Fitzgerald said, "We would anticipate that decision will be made by the end of the month. 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." Judge Kaplan replied, "The comments I have read do raise concerns." Fitzgerald also argued, "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," adding that "it's unfortunate that another tour is taking an opposite view and pressuring our players with false choice."
LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in September after Saudi Arabia withdrew its multibillion-dollar funding. The organization hopes to conclude the court-supervised restructuring process in early 2027, after which players have the option to leave the tour. LIV, which launched in 2021 and recruited a number of high-profile players, now owes its participants at least $45m (£33m).
Current Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed, who left LIV in January, said he was accepted "from day one" after rejoining the European tour. "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," Reed said. "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." Six-time major winner Rory McIlroy said LIV was in "such a state of flux" and the DP World Tour had been "more than accommodating" to players seeking to leave. "The DP World Tour are well within their rights to change the rules and regulations," McIlroy said in his press conference prior to the Thursday start of the DP World India Championship. "This is a way to protect their business and to make the tour as strong as possible."