LIV Golf’s bankruptcy filing gave Brandel Chamblee the opportunity to speak his mind. Just hours after the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Golf Channel analyst launched a brutal attack on the breakaway league on X. He first blamed the Saudi Arabian government for creating LIV.
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“As I said at the beginnings of this ill-conceived attempt to clean up the image of the Saudi government through LIV, the very nature of golf was drug into the sewer.”
He then contested that LIV snatched the freedom of its players: “The LIV players went from being autonomous, picking and choosing where they play, sometimes on a whim and answering to nobody, to going where they were told, playing courses they likely didn’t care for, under conditions they had no say in, and finally and most sadly, playing for a dictatorial theocratic murderer.”
Finally, he blamed specific people for joining and following the rules of the breakaway league: “Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau followed by EVERY player that took the money and in so doing became a puppet for a regime (against many ills) that butchered a journalist who spoke out against them.”
The final part was a direct reference to the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Chamblee’s view on LIV is very similar to Rory McIlroy’s stance since the league’s inception, even though McIlroy’s tone has become softer in recent months. McIlroy was one of the PGA Tour’s biggest defenders during the split and once said he would rather retire than join the rival league.
Even after admitting he had been “maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start,” McIlroy did not change his main view. Ahead of the BMW Championship, as LIV’s funding problems became public, he again made his position clear: “I’ve always felt like this is the best place to play professional golf. And I’m pretty sure if the PGA Tour were handed $6 billion, it would have done a better job with it.”
Chamblee has attacked the idea behind LIV, while McIlroy has focused more on how the league has been managed and what it offers. But both still agree on one thing. Neither has changed their belief that the PGA Tour is better than LIV.
The bankruptcy filing comes after a tough year for LIV Golf. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund invested over $5 billion into the league since 2022. But four years later, it announced that it would stop funding LIV after the 2026 season. Reports said the fallout from the U.S.-Iran war also played a role in the decision.
Things started going downhill soon after. LIV postponed its Louisiana event and canceled its Michigan stop. The team championship was then added to what became LIV’s final event in Indianapolis in August. The problems were not limited to the schedule. LIV also made major staff cuts behind the scenes. According to court documents shared by journalist Josh Carpenter on X, around 289 employees were let go, while another 22 were placed on furlough. That left just 41 staff members, with about 22 based in the U.S. and 19 in the U.K.
LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey. Court documents show that the league has between $100 million and $500 million in assets, while its liabilities are between $500 million and $1 billion.
The filing also showed how much money LIV still owes some of its players. Jon Rahm has the biggest unsecured claim at around $7.5 million. Bryson DeChambeau follows him with $5.7 million, Dustin Johnson with $5.5 million, Cameron Smith with $4.8 million, Tyrrell Hatton with $3.4 million, and Brooks Koepka with $1.7 million. Koepka left LIV at the start of 2026.
LIV will continue operating during the bankruptcy process with $49.6 million in funding from the PIF. BC Partners Advisors is also expected to help finance the league as it enters bankruptcy, with an exit potentially coming as early as 2027.
CEO Scott O’Neil has presented the bankruptcy as a chance to rebuild rather than the end of LIV. He described plans for a “LIV Golf 2.0” that would give players more ownership. The new plan could also increase the field size from 57 to 75, introduce a 54-hole cut, and bring in Monday qualifiers.
“Now it is time to enter the next phase of LIV Golf,” O’Neil wrote in a letter to fans.
However, it is still unclear whether those plans will work. Rahm has already said he believes he is tied to his “LIV 1.0” contract. At the same time, the PGA Tour has shown little interest in an agreement while top LIV players remain under contracts with the league. For now, Chamblee’s comments come at a major moment for LIV. The league he once predicted would fail because of its own problems is now trying to rebuild through a New Jersey bankruptcy court.