As LIV Golf continues to lose golfers, the most recent court documents show the league made sure its executives were paid while its vendors were not. Also, Cameron Young signed an intent to play for LIV before deciding to stick with the PGA Tour.
LIV CEO Scott O'Neil received substantial payments before the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sept. 8, according to LIV Golf's statement of financial affairs filed Oct. 22 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey.
O’Neil, who succeeded Palm Beach Gardens' Greg Norman, received a $6.375 million retention bonus June 24 after another bonus of about $2.7 million Feb. 13. From Sept. 12, 2025, through Aug. 28, O’Neil received more than $13.6 million in payroll, bonuses, benefits, retention payments and expense reimbursements, according to the documents.
In all, LIV paid $15.6 million in retention payments to executives.
Norman was paid more than $9.4 million when he left LIV in September 2025, a settlement of about $5.8 million and a $3.6 million bonus.
LIV owes contractors and vendors more than $4 million for work this year, which has led to several lawsuits. Among those, Fresh Tape Media, which produced LIV's preseason media days in January held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.
Fresh Tape Media is seeking $1.23 million.
LIV has indicated it had between $100 million and $500 million in assets and $500 million to $1 billion in liabilities. In April 2026, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund informed LIV it would end its financial backing of the league after the conclusion of the 2026 season.
LIV still deciding whether to go forward - or cease operations
LIV is deciding whether it will go forward with LIV 2.0 or cease operations. A LIV attorney said that decision should come by end of the month.
Young, who won last season's Players Championship, signed an intent to play for LIV following the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews. He he finished second to Cam Smith, who joined LIV soon after his lone major championship.
Young later said he stuck with the PGA Tour because he wanted to preserve his ability to compete in major championships and remain eligible for events such as the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. The Palm Beach Gardens resident has risen to No. 4 in the world.
Tyrell Hatton, who joined in January 2024, confirmed Friday he is leaving LIV.
"Wanted to confirm that I will not be a part of LIV 2.0,” Hatton wrote on Instagram. "A big thank you to everyone for their continued support. I am excited for what the next chapter of my career holds."
Hatton reportedly earned more than $100 million from LIV, including prize money and a signing bonus. Hatton joins several others who have confirmed they leaving LIV since the league filed for bankruptcy: They include Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen, Charles Howell III, Abraham Ancer, Branden Grace, David Puig, Lucas Herbert, Thomas Pieters and Tom McKibbin.
Jupiter's Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed left LIV at the start of the year.
Several others are expected to follow, including Cam Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Matthew Wolf and Adrian Meronk.
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: LIV Golf's Scott O'Neil made millions before bankruptcy filing