Lucas Herbert knows you probably won’t believe him. Given how things have unfolded in pro golf over the past five years, that’s understandable. But the Australian says he’s leaving LIV Golf for reasons that go beyond his wallet.
“I’m not super caught up in how much money I play for, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of people who listen to this will think that I’m talking a load of crap,” Herbert told the Tee It Up Podcast. “But genuinely, for me, I wanted to see my game improve, I wanted to give myself the best chance to play well in majors and compete in majors and have opportunities like I had at Birkdale this year.”
Herbert joined LIV Golf in 2024 as a member of Cameron Smith’s Ripper GC. He made over $25 million on course during his three seasons on the then-Saudi-backed league, including wins at LIV Golf Virginia and LIV Golf New York in 2026. Herbert’s strong play on LIV translated to major success in 2026, where he engineered a weekend run at the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale en route to a T6 finish.
But things are different for LIV Golf now, or at least what’s left of the breakaway league. With the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund withdrawing its funding, the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil secured an investment of up to $300 million from BC Partners Global to back LIV Golf 2.0, but that money depends on the league retaining what BC Partners Global believes is a “critical mass” of players to sustain a global golf league.
With LIV sinking in bankruptcy court, several players have jumped ship. Jon Rahm’s attorney told the New Jersey bankruptcy court that Rahm found the terms of LIV Golf 2.0 “unacceptable.” Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and others have also exited, citing various reasons or none at all.
Herbert is also among the players who have waved goodbye to the artist formerly known as LIV Golf. But he told Tee It Up that his reasons weren’t monetary but based on a lack of opportunities to play, which would be detrimental to his overall goals.
“From what it sounds like, [LIV Golf 2.0 will] be 10 tournaments. They’re telling us that there’s going to be potentially more events to play outside of those as extra playing opportunities,” Herbert said. “I’m unsure how they’re going to make that work. I’m unsure what kind of fields those are going to be. I don’t know what kind of venues they’re going to be able to get access to. Ten events is not enough to build a season around.
“You could maybe sneak a couple more in there, but the more you play, the sort of lower quality they are. It’s quality over quantity. And it’s not going to give me enough access to the majors, which right now, that’s the priority of my career, and that’s kind of how I formulated the decision that I’ve come to.”
The Saudi-backed version of LIV Golf featured 14 annual events worldwide, but players also had the ability to tee it up on the DP World Tour if they were members or received a sponsor invite, which helped them stay sharp when LIV was in a down period. That will no longer be an option in 2027, as DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings has said that any player who participates in LIV Golf 2.0 will not be allowed to play on the European Circuit.
There is also, it’s worth noting, a monetary difference between LIV 1.0 and 2.0. With the PIF no longer funding LIV, purses are expected to drop substantially from the $30 million purses that have kept the league afloat since 2022.
All of which has led to a mass exodus from LIV.
But despite Rahm, Hatton, Herbert and others bolting for the exits, LIV remains bullish on its prospects to retain enough players to restart the league. That includes Bryson DeChambeau, who told the Figuring It Out Podcast that he is actively working to get LIV 2.0 off the ground.
“It’s going to be done right and this is going to be a league that exists hopefully forever,” DeChambeau said. “It’s not combative. We’re not trying to compete against the tour. We’re trying to be creative. We’re trying to bring value to anywhere and everywhere in the golf market across the world.”
The amended Restructuring Support Agreement between LIV Golf and BC Partners Global indicates there is no longer a deadline for players to sign on to LIV 2.0 and that BC Partners now has full discretion to decide if they have enough players to continue with the rebooted league. LIV’s lawyers told the bankruptcy court they expected to know by the end of October whether they were winding things down or ramping up for version 2.0. November has arrived, and the league remains in limbo as it works its way through Chapter 11.
DeChambeau may still be on board, but Rahm, Herbert, and others have departed — whether due to money, schedule, or something else. The truth behind their reasoning? As is always the case in this era of pro golf, it probably lies somewhere in the middle.
