Cameron Smith among superstars owed millions as LIV Golf files for bankruptcy

Reshmi Basu and Soma BiswasUpdated September 9, 2026 — 9:07am,first published 8:06amAustralia’s Cameron Smith is among a group of players who are owed millions of dollars after LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday (AEST) – a dramatic fall for the Saudi-backed league that had big ambitions to challenge the supremacy of the PGA Tour.Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, its main benefactor that earlier this year pulled its financing, has agreed to provide $US49.6 million ($68.7 million) in debtor-in-possession financing. The league said in a press release it remains in “advanced discussions” with players to take control of the business, while BC Partners Credit and other investors are expected to provide exit financing when the reorganised company exits Chapter 11.Australia’s Cameron Smith is among 30 players who are owed money by LIV Golf. Getty ImagesLIV said in its bankruptcy filing it owes millions of dollars to golfers: Jon Rahm, more than $US7.4 million ($10.2 million); Bryson DeChambeau, roughly $US5.7 million ($7.8 million); and Dustin Johnson, $US5.4 million ($7.4 million) and Cameron Smith, $US4.8 million ($6.6 million). The league valued its assets between $US100 million and $US500 million ($138 million-$690 million) and its liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion ($690 million-$1.3 billion).Australian Lucas Herbert is also owed about $US1 million ($1.3 million).LIV burst onto the golf scene in 2022, shaking up the sport by signing top professional players to giant contracts and offering faster tournament play with more theatrics. It was all made possible by the Saudis, part of their big push into sports investing that also includes soccer and tennis.But earlier this year, the Saudis decided to stop funding LIV amid a broader shift in strategy toward investments with better returns. PIF had invested an estimated $US5 billion ($6.9 billion) over four years in the league.Bryson DeChambeau is also owed money by the breakaway league.APThe question remains how sustainable this version of LIV will be without the Saudis’ deep pockets. The pull-back by the Saudis was reported in April and in the following months LIV couldn’t secure another funding source to avoid bankruptcy.Maintaining players will be crucial and some of the top golfers the league lured away have returned to the PGA Tour and been financially penalised to do so.But others haven’t gone back to the PGA Tour, and LIV is trying to persuade players to stay with settlements on what they were owed on their previous contracts and then offering ownership in the league.The 2026 LIV season ended earlier than planned after the cancellation of the team championship in Detroit. LIV confirmed it was “scaling back operations”, and some employees were laid off at the start of this month.Other high-profile Australians to have played with LIV Golf include Marc Leishman, Elvis Smylie and Matt Jones.Speaking in the build-up to the Irish Open, before news of the Chapter 11 petition broke, LIV’s biggest star, Rahm, was asked if he knew what the future held.“Yes and no, it hasn’t really changed from my last interview in Indianapolis a few weeks ago,” the two-time major winner said.“And there’s just a lot of things in place, right? There’s a lot of things that could happen, and it’s one of those things where time’s gonna tell. To be fair for us people that joined LIV, I’m pretty good at dealing with turbulence.”Four vendors have already filed lawsuits because they have not been paid. Chapter 11 is commonly known as reorganisation bankruptcy and generally allows the debtor to continue to operate the business, even borrowing new money under court approval.“This process gives us the structure and time to pursue a landmark transaction and begin the next chapter of LIV Golf,” chief executive Scott O’Neil, who replaced the league’s original CEO Greg Norman, said in a statement.O’Neil has said “LIV Golf 2.0” would feature players as majority owners in a reduced schedule. In a letter to LIV Golf fans, O’Neil said the new look would expand the size of the field from 57 to 75 players and introduce a 54-hole cut for the first time. There also would be Monday qualifiers.He said the team concept would be built around nationalities and that LIV would continue to tap some of its more successful markets in Australia, South Africa and Asia.Still, the new version would be a shell of what LIV promised when it launched in June 2022 after paying nine-figure signing bonuses to lure away top names from the PGA Tour. Of the top 30 creditors LIV listed, 14 were players. The filing listed only the “unsecured claim” and not the full amount owed.“Now it is time to enter the next phase of LIV Golf,” O’Neil said in his letter. “Today, we took an important step forward to get there. LIV Golf has entered a court-supervised restructuring process that provides us with the time and framework to address previous financial obligations and complete a transaction that will make the league’s next phase a reality.“Put simply, this process is designed to build a stronger and more sustainable future for LIV Golf.”But so much depends on who stays.The PGA Tour has banned players for one year from their most recent LIV Golf appearance. Brooks Koepka was the first LIV player to return under penalty — a $US5 million payment to charity, no equity grants for five years, no access to bonus money the year he returned.PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp offered the same deal to Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith with a tight deadline to accept. None did, and three months later as the US-Iran war took hold, PIF pulled its funding and sent LIV Golf into a spiral.Rolapp has not been inclined to discuss any paths back while players are under contract.Bloomberg, AAP, APNews, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.From our partners