Report: LIV Golf faces fresh legal headache over Australian tournament
The new host venue for LIV Golf Adelaide has taken the league to court, according to a report.
LIV Golf's plans to stage its Adelaide tournament at Kooyonga Golf Club have come under renewed scrutiny after the venue asked a U.S. bankruptcy court to clarify whether the league intends to honour its commitments for the event.
Kooyonga, which is due to replace The Grange as host of LIV Golf Adelaide, has filed a motion seeking a decision on the tournament's status by Nov. 6, according to a report by 10 News Adelaide.
The move follows LIV Golf's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last month, through which the league is seeking to restructure its business.
The tournament is currently scheduled for March 18-21. 10 News Adelaide were the first to report the latest development.
In a letter to members, Kooyonga said the court filing was intended to protect the club's interests during the bankruptcy process and determine whether existing agreements would continue.
The club said it remained committed to hosting the tournament and was continuing discussions with LIV Golf, the South Australian government and other parties involved in the event.
South Australian treasurer Tom Koutsantonis has expressed uncertainty over whether the tournament will proceed.
"I hope so, but it’s looking unlikely," Koutsantonis said when asked about the event.
He said taxpayers would not be exposed to payments to LIV if the tournament did not take place, explaining that government funding was paid after the event had been staged.
"Kooyonga is right to be asking these questions of LIV about whether it will be staged, what would it look like, who's coming," Koutsantonis said.
He added that the state government was working on plans to bring the Australian Open, featuring both men's and women's events, to South Australia over the next six years.
LIV Golf chief executive Scott O'Neil has previously said the league's expanded schedule would span five continents and feature larger tournament fields.
Kooyonga said last month that preparations for the Adelaide event were continuing, while acknowledging that the impact of LIV Golf's Chapter 11 filing on venue arrangements would be assessed as the U.S. court proceedings progressed.
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