STERLING, Va. — Two-time main champion Jon Rahm mentioned he nonetheless has a number of years left on his contract with LIV Golf and would not see “many avenues” because the league seems for brand spanking new funding after Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund introduced it might cease funding after this season.
At a press convention Tuesday forward of this week’s LIV Golf Event at Trump Nationwide Golf Membership, Rahm additionally revealed that he has settled a long-standing dispute with the DP World Tour over unpaid fines for taking part in conflicting occasions and not using a launch.
The settlement will enable the previous world primary to regain eligibility to compete with the European group in subsequent yr’s Ryder Cup.
“At this level, I’ve a number of years left on my contract,” Rahm mentioned. “I do not actually see an answer as a result of I am positive they did a reasonably good job once they drafted them. Proper now, I am not pondering an excessive amount of about it as a result of I nonetheless have a season to play and I nonetheless must compete within the majors. That is not one thing I wish to take into consideration but.”
Rahm, 31, is a two-time LIV Golf Particular person Champion and leads the league in factors this season with two wins and three runner-up finishes. PIF introduced final Thursday that it might now not fund LIV Golf after this season.
Mr Rahm mentioned on Tuesday that LIV golfers had been advised they might obtain funding from PIF “for a few years”.
“To be sincere, the primary information and rumors in Mexico had been throughout event week, so we had been simply attempting to behave prefer it was only a rumor,” he mentioned. “We’re competing, so I did not wish to waste vitality occupied with it throughout an already powerful week.
“For me, it was like the fact got here later. Like everybody, I used to be shocked, clearly (surprising). I have been listening to concerning the funding for years, however I feel it is clearly a businessman’s downside when you concentrate on the way forward for the league.”
Earlier Tuesday, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neill advised reporters the league is within the means of creating a marketing strategy, securing golfers after which bringing the league to market.
Mr. O’Neal succeeded former LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman in January 2025.
The league lured star golfers away from the PGA Tour with assured contracts price greater than $100 million (Mr. Rahm reportedly obtained $300 million over a number of years), and his purse now stands at $30 million.
PIF has invested greater than $5 billion in breakaway circuits since its creation in 2022, and that quantity will enhance to greater than $6 billion by the top of the season.
“We knew immediately that we would have liked to right-size this enterprise, and now we’re in that scenario,” O’Neill mentioned.
O’Neill mentioned he obtained greater than a dozen calls over the weekend from potential buyers, together with non-public fairness corporations and different rich people.
“It is nonetheless too early,” O’Neill mentioned. “We’re not out there but. We have not finalized our marketing strategy but. We’re nonetheless figuring issues out, however at this level, 10 days in, we’ve got a great feeling. We all know the place we’re going. We simply must tighten the screws.”
O’Neal mentioned that it doesn’t matter what occurs, LIV Golf won’t transfer away from its deal with group golf, which units it other than different skilled golf leagues around the globe. He believes promoting stakes in LIV groups resembling Legion XIII, Crushers GC and RangeGoats GC will create probably the most worth.
“In the event you ask me the place the worth of this enterprise is, it is within the group,” O’Neill mentioned. “In the event you’re searching for course, we consider that groups have extraordinary worth. As soon as we set the enterprise in the precise course, on the precise trajectory, on the precise income base and value base, it is on monitor and we consider that these groups are going to have extraordinary worth.”
England’s Tyrrell Hatton, one other member of Rahm’s Area XIII group, additionally mentioned he nonetheless has a number of years left on his contract with LIV Golf.
“We wish to be right here,” Rahm mentioned. “It has been lots of enjoyable. I wish to proceed competing. I wish to proceed to share time with (my teammates), however time will inform. Clearly, I feel it is going to take lots of effort from Scott and his group.”
O’Neill mentioned it’s too early to inform whether or not LIV Golf might want to reduce funding and reduce tournaments every season to chop prices.
“I feel for the league to perform, principally there must be consent from the captains, the group house owners, and nearly all of the gamers concerned within the league,” Rahm mentioned. “I consider that altering the marketing strategy would require some concessions to no matter they provide you with.”
