Jon Rahm has resolved his standoff with the European tour, a move that gives him flexibility while LIV Golf faces an uncertain future beyond 2026.
Rahm and Tyrell Hatton fielded questions Tuesday at LIV Golf Virginia after CEO Scott O’Neil addressed reporters about his efforts to find investors for the league. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is reportedly ending its backing after this season.
Both players sidestepped questions about their future plans, pointing to their multi-year LIV contracts.
“As of right now I have several years on my contract left, and I’m pretty sure they did a pretty good job when they drafted that, so I don’t see many ways out,” Rahm said.
When asked if Saudi Arabia’s PIF had committed to honoring contracts beyond 2026, O’Neil offered a telling non-answer: “I don’t even know how to think about answering.”
The Saudis have poured $5 billion into LIV Golf over five years without turning a profit. That includes $1 billion on player contracts. Players currently compete for $30 million purses at each event—an amount that could shrink next year without Saudi funding.
While the PGA Tour prohibits its members from competing on LIV, the European tour has welcomed LIV players back after they pay fines for participating in conflicting events.
Rahm had refused to pay these fines, potentially jeopardizing his eligibility for next year’s Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland. That’s now been resolved.
“There is no longer a standoff. We were able to reach an agreement. There were some concessions on both sides, and I offered some, they extended an olive branch,” Rahm said. “So that will not be a stress anymore.”
The two-time major champion plans to play European tour events this fall, including the Spanish Open, barring family considerations. Rahm and his wife Kelley are expecting their fourth child.
Rahm has played just six European tour events since joining LIV in late 2023. With no LIV events scheduled between the U.S. Open and British Open, his settlement could allow him to play the Scottish Open—which is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour—the week before the year’s final major.
Speaking in Spanish, Rahm acknowledged the risks in joining LIV. He compared the current situation to a soccer team knowing its coach was departing at season’s end.
“You know you have to play, but there is ambiguity because maybe you are not going to follow the same system,” he said before referencing PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, known as “His Excellency,” who recently stepped down as LIV’s chairman. “It was a surprise for everyone. We didn’t expect it, after the support that His Excellency has given us.”
O’Neil pitches LIV’s value to potential investors
O’Neil took questions for 28 minutes from a LIV media official inside the tennis building at Trump National Golf Club before answering reporters’ questions for 17 minutes.
Behind him was a screen displaying six sponsors, four of which are owned or backed by the PIF: Maaden, Riyadh Air, Roshn Group and Aramco.
O’Neil highlighted sponsorships, ticket sales, TV contracts and the league’s global footprint as reasons investors should be optimistic. The league plans to market its 13 franchises, and O’Neil said those teams would be offered to potential buyers with players already under contract.
“The way the process will typically work—I may be getting ahead of myself—is that we’re going to create a business plan, we’re going to lock arms with the players, we will go to market and raise money on a top level, and then we will get investors in teams in that order,” O’Neil said. “The players on the team should be locked in.”
Rahm acknowledged that players might need to accept smaller paydays to keep the league viable.
“I do believe that for the business plan to change, whatever they’re coming up with, there will need to be some concessions on (players’) part, yeah,” he said.
