Jon Rahm on LIV Golf deal: ‘I don’t see much of a way out’

Sterling, Va. — Two-time major champion John Rahm He said he has multiple years left on his contract with LIV Golf and doesn’t see “much recourse” as the league seeks new financing after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced it would pull its funding after this season.

During a news conference Tuesday ahead of this week’s LIV golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club, Rahm also revealed that he had settled his long-running dispute with the DP World Tour over his unpaid fines for playing in conflict events without release.

The settlement allows the former world No. 1 to regain his eligibility to compete for the European team at next year’s Ryder Cup.

“Right now, I have a few years left on my contract,” Rahm said. “I’m sure they did a pretty good job when they drafted it, so I don’t see much of a way. Right now, I’m not really thinking about it because we still have a season to play and competing for the majors is not something I want to think about yet.”

Rahm, 31, is a two-time defending LIV Golf individual champion and leads the league in points with two wins and three runner-up finishes this season. The PIF announced last Thursday that it will no longer fund LIV Golf beyond this season.

Rahm said Tuesday that LIV golfers had been told the PIF fund would remain “for many years.”

“Honestly, I think the initial news and rumors in Mexico, since we’re in a tournament week, I almost tried to act like it was just rumors,” he said. “Because we’re competing, I didn’t want to waste any energy in an already demanding week thinking about it.

“For me, the reality kind of came later. I’ll say, like everybody, (I was) surprised. Obviously, (it) was unexpected. We heard the news that there would be funding for many years. But then as far as the future of the league, I think it’s definitely a question for the businessmen.”

Earlier Tuesday, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neill told reporters that the league is in the process of developing a business plan, securing golfers and then taking the league to market.

O’Neill replaces former LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman In January 2025.

The league lured star golfers away from the PGA Tour with guaranteed contracts worth more than $100 million — Rahm received $300 million over multiple years — and purses that now reach $30 million.

The PIF has invested more than $5 billion in the breakaway circuit since its inception in 2022, and that number will exceed $6 billion by the end of the season.

“I knew very quickly that we had to right-size this business, and now we find ourselves in that place,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill said he received about a dozen calls this past weekend from potential investors, including private-equity firms and other high-net-worth individuals.

“It’s still early,” O’Neill said. “We haven’t marketed yet. We haven’t finalized our business plan. We’re still sort of picking and persuading, but at this point we have a good sense of, you know, 10 days later. We know where we’re going, and now we’re just going to tighten the screws.”

Whatever happens, O’Neil said, LIV Golf will not deviate from its focus on team golf, which has set it apart from other professional golf leagues around the world. He believes selling shares of LIV teams like Legion XIII, Crushers GC and Rangegoats GC will generate the most value.

“If you ask me where the value in this business is, it’s in the teams,” O’Neill said. “If you’re looking for direction, we believe the teams will have tremendous value. We believe once we get the business on the right path, with the right trajectory, with the right revenue base and cost base, which we’re on track to do, these teams will have tremendous value.”

of England Terrell HattonAnother member of Rahm’s Legion XIII team, also said he has multiple years left on his LIV Golf contract.

“We want to be here,” Rahm said. “It’s been a lot of fun. I want to keep competing. I want to share some time with (his teammates), but only time will tell. Obviously, I think Scott and his team have a lot of work to do.”

O’Neill said it’s too early to say whether LIV Golf will move forward with lower purses and fewer tournaments each season to cut costs.

“I think there needs to be a large majority of the captains and the team owners and the players involved in the league, in short, to agree to make it work,” Rahm said. “I believe that changing business plans, whatever they are, requires some concessions on their part.”

At least Rahm no longer has to worry about whether he is eligible to play for the European team in next year’s Ryder Cup at Ireland’s Adare Manor Golf Club.

Rahm and DP World Tour have reached an agreement, with Rahm saying both sides made concessions to come to an agreement.

“I was never worried about it,” Rahm said. “There were things I believed that I wanted them to agree with me on. I knew it was just a matter of time. I also understand that they have bylaws, and they have to follow certain procedures, and things are never as easy or as fast as we think – or at least I would like them to be. But I was never worried.”

On February 21, the DP World Tour conditionally released eight of its members, not including Rahm, to compete in LIV Golf League events this season. In its statement, the tour indicated that the golfers had paid their outstanding fines. In the past, Rahm has said he doesn’t want to pay the fine, which is reportedly as much as $3 million.

Sources told ESPN that Rahm has paid his outstanding fines, in addition to fines for three controversial incidents this year. He did not receive Race to Dubai points for his finish at the Masters because he violated tour rules but will be eligible to earn them at next week’s PGA Championship and later events this season.

“The DP World Tour and Jon Rahm have come to an agreement regarding his conditional release for the remainder of the 2026 season to play in LIV Golf’s conflicting tournaments,” the tour said in a statement Tuesday. “This includes all outstanding fines accrued from 2024 to date, along with participation in agreed DP World Tour tournaments (outside majors) for the remainder of the 2026 season.”