In the case of LIV Golf and its most famous players, much is yet to be determined. Afterwards the league filed for bankruptcy in Septembertried to gain commitments from players to join the new LIV 2.0 in 2027.
If LIV can’t get some of its key players to stay on board, its chances of securing investment and a future will be in doubt.
This week, we got a window into the planning of one of LIV’s biggest stars: Sergio Garcia.
In a new court filing, Garcia’s representatives asked the court for clarity on the status of Garcia’s existing LIV contract in light of the league’s bankruptcy.
According to the suit, the 2017 Masters Champion he asks the court to declare whether his LIV contract is “terminated” as part of the bankruptcy, and, if not, he wants the authority of the court to terminate the contract itself.
Here’s what you need to know.
Inside Sergio Garcia’s court request to “terminate” the LIV agreement
Last month, LIV Golf officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey. The league hopes to bounce back from failure and evolve into what CEO Scott O’Neil called LIV 2.0.
O’Neil said see LIV 2.0 with a season of 10 events in 2027 which does not conflict with the global golf pro schedule. Five of those events will be team events, and all will likely feature much smaller purses than LIV 1.0.
LIV players have a big decision to make this offseason. Either they sign on to continue playing on a diminished LIV circuit while trying to play as many non-LIV tournaments as possible, or they move on from LIV entirely and resume their careers elsewhere.
Based on Garcia’s court filinghe seems to be leaning towards the latter.
In the filing, Garcia’s attorneys wrote, “Garcia respectfully requests that any order authorizing the rejection of the Agreement provide that the Agreement is terminated or, alternatively, modify the automatic stay to allow Garcia to effectuate the termination of the Agreement in accordance with its terms.
Their argument is that while LIV’s bankruptcy “constitutes a breach of … contract,” it does not formally “terminate” Garcia’s contract with the league.
In addition, Garcia’s lawyers argued that without his LIV contract terminated, tournament organizers, sponsors and others might be “hesitant” to work with Garcia. That could affect Garcia’s ability to plan his schedule for next season.
“As long as the Agreement remains of record, tournament organizers, sponsors and other counterparties may hesitate before dealing with Garcia, who may be unable to represent that they are free from competing contractual obligations,” Garcia’s lawyers wrote in court. “This uncertainty is particularly acute for a professional athlete, whose tournament schedule, sponsorship arrangements and participation in other events must be planned well in advance, and whose competitive career is necessarily over.”
The file also makes it clear that the end of his LIV contract does not necessarily mean that Garcia will not commit to playing LIV 2.0. It just gives them an opportunity to explore other career paths.
Garcia himself expressed the hope to play more on the DP World Tour in 2027.
“It’s obviously something I’ve always said I wanted to do,” Garcia said at the DP World Tour 2026 BMW International Open. “At 46, I can’t play 30 events a year, but I’ll make an effort to see if I can at least play a handful and try to do my best there.”
His legal conflicts with the DP World Tour in relation to his LIV career have been resolved, leaving him in good standing.
Interestingly, CEO Brian Rolapp made that clear at the Tour Championship in August that any LIV player wishing to rejoin the PGA Tour must demonstrate that he is “released” from any contractual obligations with LIV.
“I don’t know the future of LIV. It looks like they’re working very hard to come up with the next iteration of it. We’ve been consistent. Anyone who’s interested in coming to the PGA Tour needs to show that they’re released from their contractual obligations or any tail obligation they might have in that legacy model. Brooks certainly did that, and until then, we were really serious. here,” said Rolapp at East Lake. “I think it is not clear what we are reacting to, but every player who is here needs to show that he is completely free of any queue obligation for some time.”
Could you say that Garcia has an eye on a return to the PGA Tour? It seems unlikely given his age, but his LIV contract would have to be officially terminated to explore that path.
