South African government backed risky horse in LIV Golf – lucky it hedged its bets

Spending at least $45 million to upgrade a golf course to accommodate a tour that has filed for bankruptcy is a tall order.

But this is exactly the position the Malinauskas government would have to take if it did not secure the rights to host the Australian Open from 2028.

The announcement in May that the prestigious traditionalist golf event would be held at the redeveloped North Adelaide Golf Course alleviated some of what would have otherwise been a nasty political headache surrounding the financial collapse of LIV Golf.

The breakaway tour filed for bankruptcy in the US overnight, four months after Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund announced it would halt billions of dollars in funding.

LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neill said the move was aimed at preserving the league’s business as it transitions to a player ownership model. The company hopes to emerge from bankruptcy in early 2027.

But the optimism of the press release doesn’t remove the uncertainty about what LIV Golf will look like next year and whether it can retain the top talent and party atmosphere that made it such a success in Adelaide.

The Tour owed huge sums to creditors, including its star players. Jon Rahm is owed more than $10 million, Bryson DeChambeau nearly $8 million and Australian Cameron Smith about $6.5 million.

They might all have quit if they hadn’t been convinced by the new LIV model.

Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas fully committed to LIV Golf’s vision back in February 2025, announcing a six-year contract extension until 2031 and that the company would move to a new Greg Norman-designed championship course in North Adelaide in 2028.

The government has consistently said the course’s upgrades are not limited to just LIV Golf, indicating it will be used by the public outside of events.

But it’s also hard to imagine a world in which the $45 million upgrade gets the green light without LIV Golf; indeed, the Prime Minister pointed this out at the time, saying the extension to 2031 was “worth the investment”.

“We didn’t want to invest heavily in North Adelaide and face the prospect of that. [LIV Golf] disappearing from South Australia,” he said in February 2025.

As negative headlines about LIV Golf’s finances piled up, so did questions about the rationale for the course’s upgrades.

The development and loss of 585 trees has always been met with opposition from parkland, green conservationists and elements of the Adelaide City Council.

But the prospect of spending $45 million on a redesigned course without any major event associated with it threatened a much broader backlash.

If you want a sense of the political significance of the Australian Open, you only need to look at how prominently it figures in the government’s talking points about LIV Golf’s bankruptcy today.

“We are focused not only on LIV Golf but also on other opportunities,” said Labor Minister Claire Scriven, “which is why we were so keen to secure the Australian Open.”

Cabinet colleague Nick Champion, who in April said the prospect of LIV Golf ceasing to exist was “mere speculation” and “not a question we would ask ourselves”, said today the State Government had not “overly relied” on one event.

“I understand there will be endless media speculation about LIV Golf, but we are modernizing the golf course so that we have a world-class course next to a world-class course. [Adelaide] The oval is world class in the city,” he said.

“And we have Australian men’s and women’s competitions open.”

The debate continues

The fight to upgrade the North Adelaide track appears to have largely moved forward.

This is partly due to the announcement of the Australian Open, but also because attention has turned to the government’s controversial MotoGP track in the eastern parks, which will require the felling of at least 377 trees.

Opposition Leader Ashton Hearn was today asked whether LIV Golf’s bankruptcy filing raises questions about the need to upgrade the North Adelaide golf course.

“Yes, but I think we’re past that point if you look at how many trees have been cut down now,” she said.

Today Ms Hearne was more focused on the question of whether South Australian taxpayers were involved in the demise of LIV Golf – something the government denies.

“We’re good at writing event contracts,” Mr. Champion said, “we don’t support events that don’t happen.”

Over to you, Koyonga

If LIV Golf can get out of its current predicament, the next match will be played in Adelaide in March 2027 at Kooyonga Golf Club.

The western suburbs club was awaiting an advance payment from LIV Golf to help with preparations.

The status of this fee remains unclear.

But Australian golf commentator Jimmy Emanuel believes LIV Golf will stage the tournament next year, even if it looks a little different.

“It’s very expensive to host a tournament of this size to attract musicians like Fischer,” he said.

“Just building stands, developing hospitality is a big financial commitment – the scale of investment will not be the same as in Saudi Arabia.

What will happen after next year is anyone’s guess, but the government remains confident of one thing.

Even if LIV dies, the North Adelaide track upgrades will continue.