New court filings show that Sergio Garcia is looking to end his LIV Golf contract. Here’s why…
Sergio Garcia is seeking an official termination of his LIV Golf contract, according to court filings.
Filings submitted in LIV’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on Wednesday show that Garcia is now looking for clarity on his situation as the league fights for his future.
When LIV entered its restructuring period by filing for bankruptcy last month, the league asked the court’s permission to reject their existing player contracts as they hope to bring a sustainable approach to a reimagined ‘LIV 2.0’.
Garcia’s lawyers and his company, Even Par LLC, have stated they do not oppose the motion to reject his LIV contract, but the Spaniard has now requested the bankruptcy judge to officially terminate the contract, or otherwise enable him to terminate the agreement.
That move would appear to offer the 2017 Masters champion more flexibility over his future steps.
“So 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 of competing contractual commitments,” Garcia’s lawyers argue in the filing.
“That 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 finite.”
Garcia has not explicitly stated whether or not he has made a decision on his LIV future, but he told TG in June that he is planning to regain his DP World Tour membership next season.
At that stage, Garcia claimed: “I’m 99 percent sure LIV is going to continue – it’s just going to look different than it has in the last four years.”
The league plans to be financed in 2027 by private equity firm BC Partners, with a transition of ownership to players as part of the restructuring agreeement. But the BC Partners transaction is likely to hinge on commitment from star players, which as of yet has not been forthcoming.
Importantly, Garcia’s lawyers insist that nothing in the filing “should be construed as a final and irreversible determination by Garcia regarding a new relationship with a successor” in the bankruptcy case. He wants to “assess and pursue all available options”, so not ruling out a future with LIV 2.0 but also ensuring that he is not bound contractually to the league.
Days after it had emerged in April that the Saudi Public Investment Fund would stop funding LIV to the tune of billions of dollars, TG reported that several of the league’s players had begun contacting the DP World Tour as they considered contingency plans.
Garcia, Europe’s all-time record Ryder Cup points scorer, has said that he hopes to play more on his old circuit in the future.
“It’s obviously something that I’ve always said that I wanted to do and I’m trying to do the best I can there,” he said in June. “Obviously, at 46, I can’t play 30 events a year, but I’m going to make an effort to see if I can at least play a handful and try to do my best there.”