When Ben Campbell reflects on the demise of LIV Golf, he does so with more gratitude than disappointment. The Queenstown professional joined the rebel competition in 2024 from the Asian Tour. Two years later, that’s where he’ll return to compete.
Campbell’s first LIV assignment was as a reserve before joining Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC team in 2025. His time at LIV has left him with outstanding payments from the Saudi-backed tour, but with no regrets.
“I think for me it was life-changing, really. Financially, it was. I think some of the experiences that I’ve got, I did learn a lot. I think I would’ve learned more in those three years being around some of those top players than I did in my whole career,” Campbell says, recovering at home from a hip injury.
LIV Golf’s future went from precarious to palliative yesterday when it was revealed that BC Partners Credit, the lead investor in “LIV 2.0”, had withdrawn from the project after struggling to convince star players to fully commit.
Campbell says he was one of around 30 players to sign up for the revised tour.
“LIV 2.0” refers to the attempted relaunch of the league after losing its original Saudi backers. LIV Golf said only that attempts to implement its “Restructuring Support Agreement” (RSA) with BC Partners had foundered.
LIV formally filed for bankruptcy protection in September, though officials hoped to relaunch as “LIV 2.0” next season. Instead, it will begin liquidating its remaining assets, the New Jersey bankruptcy court heard.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) had poured an estimated US$5 billion ($8.9b) into the tour since 2022, before abruptly pulling the plug this year.
Some players are believed to be owed tens of millions of dollars. Campbell says he’s also owed money – but at the other end of the scale.
“I’d say every player’s still owed money. I don’t know too much about what happens now. I’m not too sure where the payouts will be and things like that.
“What I’m owed is definitely a lot less than what a lot of people are owed,” Campbell says.
While some former LIV players also face uncertainty over where their golfing futures lie, given that some will face stand downs from either the DP World Tour or PGA Tour, Campbell will be welcomed back to the Asian Tour.
“The Asian tour is a bit different. I think it probably hasn’t publicly been mentioned enough. LIV was giving, I think they’ve given 350 million [dollars] to the Asian tour over the last six or seven years. Originally, the Asian Tour was the feeder for LIV, that’s how I got on there.
“I talked to Cho [Min Thant, Asian Tour CEO and Commissioner], I checked that there wasn’t any sort of sanctions against us going back to Asia and Cho told me that there wouldn’t be anything like that for going back to the Asian tour. I think that’s where I’ll head back to,” says Campbell.
The Kiwi is hoping to return to competition in time for the 2027 New Zealand Open at Millbrook. As well as being his national open, it also offers a place in the British Open for the highest-placed player without an exemption. This year it was another LIV competitor, Lucas Herbert, who gained entry after finishing second behind New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier.
“It’s sort of one that’s really on my list I’d love to win one day. I’ve come second a couple of times now, so, playing in front of a home crowd and things like that, it’s definitely one I’d like to take off,” Campbell says.
But first he’ll have to get fit – the hip injury that he’s recovering from brought his LIV career to a premature close. He says his rehabilitation has been going well.
“Hopefully hitting balls in December, maybe just before Christmas, and then back hitting drivers and things like that in January.”
As Campbell looks to his future, he looks fondly on his time sharing the clubhouse with the world’s best golfers.
“The cool thing about LIV is we had like a tournament hotel where all the players stayed, and we had a players’ lounge at the hotel. That’s probably some of my fondest memories of LIV is actually sitting down and having dinner, you know, I always loved sitting down with [2011 Masters Champion] Charl Schwartzel. He’s a keen hunter.
“Some of the, I suppose, off-golf experience that I had. Guys that I’ve looked up to for my whole career, sharing a plane with some of the South African boys, [2010 Open Champion] Louis Oosthuizen, like those guys. It was pretty surreal, they’re the guys that I watched when I was young and then all of a sudden, you’re hanging out.
“That’s some of the experiences I really enjoyed about LIV,” Campbell says.
At 35, Campbell is still in the prime of his career – but that’s not how he’s looking at it. Golf is very much in his future plans, but his playing days could be limited.
“I won’t play golf forever. I probably won’t play in my 40s, I don’t think. I never really thought I’d give coaching a go, now I’m sort of thinking that it’d probably be a shame not to do a bit of coaching and pass on some of those things that I’ve learned from some of the best players in the world, really.”
Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.