LIV still needs player commitments after reported court approvals

LIV Golf still has to establish a viable playing field after Wednesday’s reported bankruptcy approvals. ESPN and Golf Channel reported that Judge Michael B. Kaplan approved its BC Partners restructuring agreement and rejection of 19 existing player contracts, while the proposed league’s future remains undecided.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reported Wednesday that Judge Michael B. Kaplan approved the amended agreement and the contract-rejection motion. Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and Bubba Watson were among the players whose existing contracts were included, according to that report.

The league has described rejection of those deals as a step toward negotiating a different compensation structure. It does not establish that those players have signed new agreements or committed to the proposed league.

Rex Hoggard’s account of the hearing for Golf Channel reports an explicit limit on the agreement’s approval: Kaplan said it did not decide confirmation of a reorganization plan or approval of a disclosure statement. The judge described paths that could include continued operations or a wind-down.

LIV attorney Robert Fitzgerald told the court the league expected to know by the end of October whether it would move forward or cease operations, Schlabach reported. Hoggard reported that the agreement sets an October 25 deadline for player commitments, which BC Partners can extend or waive.

The hearing also brought a dispute over the DP World Tour’s decision to withhold membership from golfers who join LIV’s proposed next version. Fitzgerald accused the European tour of interference. That was LIV’s argument, rather than a judicial finding that the policy was unlawful.

Sources

• Mark Schlabach’s ESPN hearing report
• Rex Hoggard’s Golf Channel hearing report

Sources

ESPN: LIV hearing decisions and month-end timetable · Agreement approved with limits