Branden Grace of South Africa lines up a putt on the twelfth hole, during the third round of the LIV Golf Invitational Series at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon, USA, 02 July 2022. The event is the first in the US of the newly created LIV Golf Invitational Series. The PGA Tour announced on 09 June that players competing in the LIV Golf Invitational Series have been suspended by the Tour. EPA-EFE/TROY WAYRYNENCEO Scott O'Neil received $6.375 million in June to stay with LIV ahead of the tour's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in September, according to media reports unpacking documents filed last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey.
O'Neil also received a $2.68 million bonus in February. He was paid $13.67 million in total from September 2025 through August 2026.
Other LIV executives to receive retention bonuses of $1 million or more this past summer, according to Front Office Sports, include: CFO David Phillipps ($3.36 million), chief legal officer John Ruzich ($2.61 million), president of business operations Chris Heck ($1.31 million), and global chief people officer Jennifer Frieman ($1.04 million).
O'Neil was asked about the outstanding payments to various vendors at an LIV event in August.
"We're doing everything we can to make sure we can do right by them and the work they committed, and I hope we can," O'Neil said, per Front Office Sports.
The Saudi PIF spent upwards of $5 billion since LIV's 2022 launch. The tour plans to move forward with "LIV 2.0" in 2027 thanks to a significant investment by BC Partners Credit.
Bankruptcy documents also revealed player payments over the past year, most notably to Jon Rahm ($26.64 million), Bryson DeChambeau ($13.86 million) and Dustin Johnson ($10.73 million).
--Field Level Media
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