More than 10 LIV golfers, led by two-time major champion Dustin Johnson, are rallying together in hopes of negotiating with the Public Investment Fund for their unpaid LIV contracts.<\/p>\n
The group, whose claims total more than $100 million in contracted payments, seeks what it characterizes as severance deals from the PIF, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that bankrolled LIV Golf until it suddenly pulled the plug in April. Two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson and Thomas Detry are also members of the group.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s public emergence comes just before the Sunday deadline for player commitments to LIV\u2019s 2.0 iteration, although LIV\u2019s new investor, BC Partners Credit, retains the power to push back that deadline. According to a source familiar with the player group\u2019s thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, none of the players in Johnson\u2019s cohort are expected to sign the restructuring agreement between LIV and BC Partners in its current form.<\/p>\n
The news of the Johnson-led player group comes amid a flurry of additional LIV golfers announcing they will not compete in LIV 2.0, including Tyrrell Hatton<\/a>, Tom McKibbon<\/a> and Ian Poulter<\/a>. Jon Rahm announced his departure from the league earlier this month.<\/p>\n David Cornwell, Johnson\u2019s long-time lawyer and formerly the general manager of Johnson\u2019s 4 Aces team, represents the group. Many members overlap with the ad hoc group of golfers in LIV\u2019s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. Bryson DeChambeau leads that cohort, but he is not working with Johnson and Cornwell in this approach for severance payments.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven their reliance on these promises, our group seeks a sensible severance payment as part of the wind-up of LIV,\u201d Cornwell said in a statement to The Athletic. \u201cThe decision to release potential claims against the PIF and join LIV 2.0 will be influenced largely by how the PIF manages the wind-up of LIV 1.0.\u201d<\/p>\n Is this the end for LIV Golf?<\/p>\n Brody Miller<\/p>\n Johnson declined to comment through his agent.<\/p>\n According to Cornwell, these banded-together LIV golfers feel they made \u201ccareer-altering decisions\u201d based on \u201crepeated promises\u201d from the PIF, which strongly influenced their decision to accept recruitment to the league at its inception. He said he believes players are hesitant to sign with LIV for 2027 until they know more about settlements for payments they are owed.<\/p>\n