Back in 2023, Jon Rahm – then the world number three – signed on the dotted line, effectively deposited $300m into his bank account and deepened the schism between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), who control nearly $1 trillion worth of assets, do hundreds of deals every day. But seldom do they demand as much ink, airtime and smartphone pixels.
Rahm was attracted, he said, by the prospect of “bringing growth to the sport.” The promise of a total prize purse worth $405m across 14 annual events probably helped too.
But three years and nearly $5bn of PIF investment later, the Saudi oil money well appears to have run dry.
The Public Investment Fund, whose governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been directed to concentrate the sovereign wealth of the nation on domestic investment, announced in April that they would only continue to fund LIV Golf until the end of the 2026 season.
As of yesterday, when Rahm was pipped by Legion XII teammate Tyrrell Hatton to the title in Andalucia, four events remain in 2026, starting with the United Kingdom swing on 23 July, followed by New York, Indianapolis and Michigan.
In the background, there are doubts that LIV will even stumble on for that long.
CEO Scott O’Neil, the advisory firm AlixPartners and the investment bank Ducera Partners are seeking $250-350m of fresh investment to pay the bills and restructure the league in a more financially sustainable manner, starting with reducing the number of events from 2027 onwards by four.
Players could take equity in their teams too, with some players – such as Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood – reportedly prepared to waive a portion of their salaries or provide capital to keep the lights on.
But based on the latest reports, it seems vanishingly unlikely that Rahm will be among them.
The 31-year-old has already said he won’t be helping pitch LIV Golf to investors and now, per Front Office Sports, sources say Rahm is ‘waiting—maybe even hoping for—LIV to miss a paycheck’.
His deal reportedly expires in 2029, but missed payment or the league filing for bankruptcy could give him grounds to terminate it ahead of time.
It would be a messy divorce for the player who was, once upon a time, a statement of intent from the breakaway league.
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