LIV Golf 1.0 is gone. The pomp, pageantry and hot-air-balloon contracts of the LIV’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 chapter, colloquially referred to as LIV Golf 2.0. According to recent reports, the league must obtain key stakeholder and court approval to complete the transaction with its angel investor, BC Partners.

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 CEO 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 tour as the clock continues to tick? Which players have indicated their intention of leaving (or have formally asked the court to be released from their 1.0 contract), which haven’t and which are still sitting on the fence? Let’s take a look.

The five-time major champion announced his departure from LIV Golf on Dec. 23, 2025. Citing a desire to remain closer to his family, Koepka and LIV Golf parted mutually, voiding the final year of his contract. A short while later, Kopeka rejoined the PGA Tour as part of the circuit’s short-lived Returning Player program, which was also extended to the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm. Neither accepted the offer.

The 2018 Masters champion made his exit official on Jan. 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.

On Oct. 6, the former Fireballs captain was given notice that his LIV Golf contract had been terminated in a legal hearing in New Jersey. The move was requested by Garcia through his lawyer in order to be able to speak to other parties—presumably the DP World Tour—about his future. Garcia still could have sign a new contract to play for LIV Golf 2.0, but the request to terminate his deal seemed to indicate a desire to end his time with the former Saudi Public Investment Fund venture. Sure enough, on Oct. 29, he formally announced he was returning to the DP World Tour in 2027.

In the first big 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 Oct. 7. An official separation agreement between Rahm and LIV Golf was finalized Oct. 15. In exchanging for releasing claims to millions still owed, Rahm received control over his own name, image and likeness, according to court records, including the nickname “Rahmbo” and “Legion XIII.”

The 24-year-old Spaniard is following Rahm out of LIV after four years in the league. “I don’t see myself playing in the LIV 2.0,” Puig told reporters at the 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, 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.

Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter reported that Abraham Ancer’s tenure with LIV Golf is over. Ancer was early LIV adopter, joining the league for its second-ever event in 2022, but his contract expried at the end of the 2025 season and he has opted not to renew. The 2021 FexEx St. Jude Invitational winner plans to compete on the DP World Tour in 2027.

On Oct. 21, Louis Oosthuizen announced he will be leaving LIV Golf and returning to the DP World Tour in 2027. Oosthuizen called joining LIV “one of the best decisions of my life,” but said that it’s now time for his “next chapter.”

The Ryder Cup legend took to social media on Oct. 23 to announce he has “decided to not move forward with being part of LIV 2.0.” Poulter, 50, said it was a “tough decision,” but ultimately, he wants to cut down on international travel, play some senior events, create more YouTube golf content and spend more time helping his son, Luke, a member of GB&I’s recent winning Walker Cup team, transition to a pro career.

A combined nine-time winner on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, the 35-year-old Englishman announced on the same day as Poulter that he was out for LIV 2.0. Hatton is expected to return fulltime to the European circuit with designs on re-earning his card on the PGA Tour. LIV was enormously profitable for Hatton, who reportedly made more than $100 million in his three seasons there.

The Australian, who confirmed to Flushing It on Oct. 23 that he was leaving LIV, won twice on the circuit in 2026, but easily his biggest accomplishment was shooting a major-record-tying 62 at Royal Birkdale in the Open Championship. Herbert fired a 28 on the front nine to match a tournament record, and he went on to tie for sixth. The 30-year-old joined LIV in 2024 and was popular on the Australian team of Ripper GC.

The 38-year-old South African, who said on Oct. 23 he’s not going to LIV 2.0, didn’t get mentioned often as a “star” who defected to LIV, but he’s won a combined 11 times between the PGA Tour and DP World. Grace joined LIV in 2022 and won his only title that season in Portland. He reportedly earned more than $40 millon on LIV.

On Oct. 16, Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter reported that Charles Howell III will not join LIV Golf 2.0 following the expiration of his original LIV contract at the end of the 2026 season. A former member of Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC team, Howell is expected to compete on the DP World Tour in 2027.

On Oct. 15, Flushing It Golf—a notable golf account on X that broke several stories about LIV Golf in recent months—revealed that Thomas Pieters had informed him that he will not be joining LIV Golf 2.0. The Belgian is expected to seek a new home on the DP World, where has won six times throughout his career.

On Oct. 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 in early October, 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.

Although the 2022 Champion Golfer of the Year qualified for the PGA Tour’s Returning Player program this winter, Smith chose to remain with LIV Golf for the 2026 season. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in late September, Smith said of LIV Golf 2.0, “We don’t have all the answers. It’s hard to make a decision.” Sources tell Golf Digest that Smith was among a group of players who are now seeking a release/termination deal similar to that of Garcia’s at the ongoing LIV bankruptcy hearings in New Jersey. The league is said to have asked for additional week to review Smith’s request.

The 2019 NCAA individual champ 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/termination deal similar to Garcia’s on Oct. 7. Like with Garcia and Smith (and the remaining players listed below who are also seeking termination rulings), if Wolff has his deal terminated he can still potentially sign a new contract with LIV 2.0.

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 narrow 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/termination deal similar to Garcia’s on Oct. 7.

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 feels short-lived, with the 2009 U.S. Amateur winner said to be one of the group of players who requested a release/termination deal similar to Garcia’s on Oct. 7.

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 D.C. in May 2023. Unfortunately, Varner was arrested for a DUI seven months later, recording double the legal BAC limit on a breathlyzer test administered at the scene. Varner is said to be one of the group of players who requested a release deal similar to Garcia’s on Oct. 7.

Ben An
Laurie Canter
Bryson DeChambeau
Thomas Detry
Sam Horsfield
Dustin Johnson
Michael La Sasso
Anirban Lahiri
Marc Leishman
Victor Perez
Cameron Smith
Brendan Steele
Caleb Surratt
Cameron Tringale
Bubba Watson
Lee Westwood

Richard Bland
Cameron Tringale
Brendan Steele
Ben Campbell

Following 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 LIV Golf 1.0’s winningest player, capturing nine individual titles in five seasons on the tour.

DeChambeau recently completed his latest YouTube series, Bryson’s Backyard Games, a $100,000, 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, when his original contract expired. A new deal was being negotiated with the Saudi PIF when the organization suddenly pulled its funding of LIV. Legally speaking, DeChambeau is a free agent.

Per a TMZ report, Mickelson voluntarily entered rehab in late September “seeking treatment for family trauma and addiction” following allegations of misconduct this spring. Mickelson has not played a LIV Golf event since LIV Golf South Africa in March 2026, finishing 48th.