LIV created a huge divide when it launched and lured stars in 2022, but it has endured a tumultuous year after its Saudi investors, who pumped about $A7 billion into the project, pulled their funding.
The loss of cash prompted the league to file for bankruptcy protection in September, and its filing listed several star golfers as creditors still owed at least $US45 million ($A65m) in unsecured claims.
Consistently loyal to LIV Golf, former world No.2 Smith has a claim worth $US4.8m ($A6.9m), and Reuters is reporting that attorneys of Smith and fellow Australian Marc Leishman plus US star Bryson DeChambeau and three others had approached the judge to allow them out of their deals.
Players also sought to clarify their ability to negotiate with other tournament organisers and sponsors as their LIV contracts go unpaid.
However, ending old deals would not preclude players from agreeing to participate in LIV 2.0, a revamped version the league has been working towards, having recently secured a possible $US300m ($A430m) from BC Partners Credit to help it emerge from restructuring and strengthen its financial footing ahead of the 2027 season.
According to sources with knowledge of league operations, conversations with players regarding their participation in LIV 2.0 remain on track, and statements made in court on Wednesday (US time) do not change the trajectory, timeline, or momentum of the transaction, Reuters reported.
But in a more immediate hammer blow for the competition, the attorney for superstar Rahm told a bankruptcy hearing that he would be quitting the league.
"Mr Rahm has independently reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0, as the parties have been referring to it, and has determined that those terms are unacceptable to him, and he will not be participating," his attorney John Beck told the court.
Rahm, has an unsecured claim of around $US7.5m ($A10.8m).
He has won three consecutive season-long individual titles on the LIV circuit since joining in late 2023, and his attorney's admission comes after the competition had agreed to terminate fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia's contract.
The 2026 LIV Golf campaign ended earlier than planned after the cancellation of the team championship in Detroit.
With Reuters
26°C