LIV Golf 1.0 is gone. The pomp, pageantry and hot-air-balloon contracts of the league’s first iteration went up in smoke when the league filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. Now the future of LIV Golf hinges on financing efforts for its next iteration, colloquially referred to as LIV Golf 2.0. According to recent reports, the league must now raise $US300 million in financing with help from its highly touted angel investor, BC Partners.
RELATED: Jon Rahm to leave LIV Golf, dealing huge blow to the league’s future
Key to the future of LIV Golf, however, is the status of its top pros, who will operate as equity owners of the league and its respective teams under the plan laid out by chief executive Scott O’Neil. Without those players and their literal and figurative buy-in, LIV Golf may not survive to see its second chapter. So where does that leave the floundering league as clock continues to tick? Which players have left, which haven’t and which are still sitting on the fence? Let’s take a look.
Confirmed departures
Brooks Koepka 
Photo: Ross Parker/SNS Group
The five-time major champion announced his departure from LIV Golf on December 23, 2025. Citing a desire to remain closer to his family, Koepka and LIV Golf parted mutually, voiding the final year of his contract. Shortly afterwards, Kopeka rejoined the PGA Tour as part of the circuit’s short-lived Returning Player program, which was also extended to the likes of Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. None accepted the offer.
Patrick Reed
The 2018 Masters champion made his exit official on January 28, 2026, declining a new contract offer after his original deal expired at the end of 2025. Reed has competed on the DP World Tour throughout 2026, winning twice, and is said to be targeting a return to the PGA Tour in 2027.
Sergio Garcia
On October 6, the former Fireballs captain was granted formal release from his LIV Golf contract in a legal hearing in New Jersey. The move officially ended Garcia’s time with the former Saudi Public Investment Fund venture and opened the door to a potential DP World Tour return. Garcia has retained his status on the European-based tour throughout his time with LIV Golf.
Jon Rahm
In the biggest blow to LIV 2.0 yet, Rahm’s lawyer told a New Jersey judge that his client had reviewed LIV’s proposal and had “no interest” in joining the revamped tour during a bankruptcy hearing on October 7. According to reports, an official separation agreement between Rahm and LIV Golf will be finalised in mid-October. PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp has shot down calls to extend the PGA Tour’s Returning Player program, leaving the DP World Tour as Rahm’s most logical landing spot.
David Puig
The 24-year-old Spaniard is following his countryman and fellow Fireballs teammate Sergio Garcia out of LIV after four years in the league. “I don’t see myself playing in the LIV 2.0,” Puig told reporters at this week’s Spanish Open. “It’s a decision I’ve made. I hope to play the European tour next year, which I really enjoy, with a fuller schedule.” After being a standout amateur at Arizona State University, Puig turned pro when he joined LIV and played in the 2022 LIV Golf Invitational Chicago. He earned the league’s Breakout Star of the Year Award in 2025 and also won the 2025 BMW Australian PGA Championship.
Impending departures
Adrian Meronk 
Photo: David Cannon
On October 7, Polish source Jacek Person tweeted, “The end! Adrian Meronk has no intention of extending his contract with LIV Golf.” Official confirmation has yet to arrive, but after winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last weekend, Meronk said that his goal for the rest of the season was to secure his DP World Tour status for 2027, aided greatly by his win in Scotland. It appears the 6-foot-6 Polish pro is as good as gone.
Cameron Smith
Although the criteria set forth by the PGA Tour’s Returning Player Program this January included the 2022 Champion Golfer of the Year, Smith chose to remain with LIV Golf for the 2026 season. Speaking to Australian Golf Digest‘s Evin Priest in late September, Smith said of LIV Golf 2.0, “We don’t have all the answers. It’s hard to make a decision.” Despite Smith’s initial uncertainty, sources tell Golf Digest that Smith formally requested release from his LIV Golf contract at the ongoing bankruptcy hearings in New Jersey. LIV is said to have asked for an additional week to review Smith’s request.
Matthew Wolff
The 2019 NCAA individual championship winner joined LIV Golf in 2022. After a falling out with Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka in 2023, Wolff joined Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC. Wolff is said to be one of the group of players who requested a release deal similar to Garcia’s on October 7.
Marc Leishman
The six-time PGA Tour winner joined LIV Golf as a member of Cameron Smith’s all-Aussie Ripper GC in 2022. In 2025, he claimed his first LIV win, a one-stroke victory over Charl Schwartzel at LIV Golf Miami. Leishman is said to be one of the group of players who requested a release deal similar to Garcia’s on October 7.
Byeong Hun An
The Korean pro was the last big coup of LIV Golf’s PIF era, joining in January 2026 as captain of the newly rebranded Korean Golf Club. However, An’s LIV tenure now looks to be over, with the 2009 US Amateur winner said to be another from the group of players who requested a release deal similar to Garcia’s on October 7.
Harold Varner III
Varner’s time at LIV Golf has been full of ups and downs. He’s played on three separate franchises – the RangeGoats, 4Aces and Smash GC – and won LIV Golf Washington DC in May 2023. Unfortunately, Varner was arrested for a DUI seven months later, recording double the legal BAC limit on a breathlyser test administered at the scene. Varner is also said to be one of the group of players who requested a release deal similar to Garcia’s on October 7.
Cameron Tringale
The HyFlyers GC pro is said to be yet another from the group of players who requested a release deal similar to Garcia’s on October 7.
Photo: Andrew Redington
To be determined
Joaquin Niemann
After the Chilean’s first Abierto de Chile victory in October, Niemann told La Tercera, “The truth is, I’m still deciding what to do; whether I want to stay and believe in what’s happening in the league or go play more in Europe and from there try to get on the PGA Tour. I’ll have to make a decision in a couple of weeks.” Niemann is original LIV Golf’s most successful player, capturing nine individual titles in five seasons on the tour.
Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau recently completed his latest YouTube series, Bryson’s Backyard Games, a $US100,000, winner-take-all reality golf competition filmed in his backyard. He has not spoken publicly about his plans since the end of the 2026 LIV Golf season in August.
Phil Mickelson
Per a TMZ report, Mickelson voluntarily entered rehab in late September “seeking treatment for family trauma and addiction” after allegations of misconduct earlier this year. Mickelson has not played a LIV Golf event since LIV Golf South Africa in March 2026, finishing 48th.
