NEW YORK — Sergio Garcia has filed court documents seeking to have his LIV Golf contract officially terminated to remove uncertainty over his free-agent status, according to filings first spotted by the Financial Times. The Spaniard argues the current limbo — with LIV Golf in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and player contracts set to be voided as part of a restructuring for a proposed 2.0 version — leaves third parties unclear whether he is free to join another tour or sign business deals.
Garcia's legal team accepts that LIV deals are likely to be cancelled eventually but says the ambiguity is already damaging, asking the court for permission to end the agreement himself. "Garcia respectfully requests that any order authorizing rejection of the agreement provide that the agreement is terminated or, in the alternative, modify the automatic stay to permit Garcia to effectuate termination of the agreement in accordance with its terms," the filing states.
"So long as the agreement remains of record, tournament organizers, sponsors, and other counterparties may hesitate before dealing with Garcia, who may be unable to represent that they are free of competing contractual commitments," the papers read. "That uncertainty is particularly acute for a professional athlete, whose tournament schedule, sponsorship arrangements, and participation in other events must be planned well in advance, and whose competitive career is necessarily finite." The documents specifically cite concerns about entering tournaments, returning to tours such as the DP World Tour, and securing sponsors.
The filing comes as LIV Golf Adelaide venue Kooyonga Golf Club has also filed court papers seeking clarity on whether its 2027 event will proceed. LIV sources with knowledge of the situation stressed to Golf Monthly that such requests for clarification are commonplace in Chapter 11 cases and that decisions rest with the court, a point Garcia's lawyers acknowledge while still pushing for an explicit termination to allow him to operate as an instant free agent.
Since LIV filed for bankruptcy, multiple players have been reported to be weighing futures and exploring avenues including DP World Tour events and Q-School and the Asian Tour, though many have voiced support for LIV Golf 2.0 if it proceeds. Chief executive Scott O'Neil, who is not involved in the current court-controlled contract process but is leading efforts to sign players for the new iteration, faces a race against time to secure enough commitments to finalize a major investment deal with BC Partners. Garcia may yet be among those to sign for 2.0, but until terms are official he is seeking to keep all options open.