PGA Tour boss Brian Rolapp will reportedly face stiff opposition if he attempts to create a smooth path back for Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau if they decide to leave LIV Golf, according to a report. 

The playing futures of both players have come into sharp focus after reports last week suggested Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to withdraw its financial support for the breakaway tour at the conclusion of the season in August. 

LIV Golf insist it is business as usual but their chief executive, Scott O’Neil, appeared to indicate there were in fact huge doubts about the league’s future during an interview with TNT Sports last week in Mexico. PIF are also yet to comment. 

O’Neil told former English professional golfer Oliver Wilson that the league was “funded through 2026” and he would spend the next few months “working like crazy” to “create a business plan to keep us going”. 

DeChambeau was among the first wave of players to be recruited by LIV in 2022, penning a deal worth more than $100m. His contract is set to expire at the end of the campaign and the American, 32, is yet to commit his future to the organisation.  

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It has been reported he wants at least $500m to remain. The two-time U.S. Open champion broke his silence on the subject on Wednesday, explaining that he thinks there will be a solution. 

Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm

Rahm joined LIV in December 2024 and is thought to have agreed a four-and-a-half-year contract that will take him through to the end of the 2027 season should the rival league continue. 

DeChambeau and Rahm would be expected to resume their careers on the PGA Tour if LIV’s empire does come crumbling down. 

But Eamon Lynch of Golfweek has reported Rahm and DeChambeau are unlikely to get the same soft landing Koepka did when he left LIV and re-joined the PGA Tour in January. 

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Koepka was able to return to the PGA Tour via a hastily-arranged “returning member programme”. 

Per the conditions, Koepka was made to make a charitable donation of $5m, forfeit FedEx Cup bonus money in 2026 and earn his way into the bumper prize purse signature events. 

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The American, 35, is also not eligible for the PGA Tour’s player equity programme for the next four years. 

Rahm, DeChambeau and former Open champion Cameron Smith were eligible for the same programme but opted to stay with LIV. 

Whether or not the Tour would offer the same terms in the future remains to be seen. 

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And according to the report, a PGA Tour insider has suggested that a pathway back may prove troublesome now as both players are not particularly popular with the current membership. 

It would not be palatable should Rahm be allowed to come back with his pockets stuffed. 

And it has also not been forgotten that DeChambeau was among the 11 LIV Golf players that sued the PGA Tour in 2022. 

A source told the publication:

“There was respect and enthusiasm for Koepka. Maybe less respect for [Patrick] Reed, but understanding that his path was different and respect that he was willing to earn that path. This will be a much more difficult path back because of the changed circumstances, and the suit by Bryson. The bar is much higher this time.”

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For his part, Rahm said he is not paying too much attention to the noise. 

Last week, he told Spanish newspaper ABC that he turned his phone off after receiving so many messages and phone calls. 

“Until the people in charge here tell me something concrete, I’m not going to waste my time thinking about it,” he said. 

“I have a signed contract, and everyone here gets paid. I don’t see any reason to worry. What I have to do is play golf.”

What has Bryson DeChambeau said about his future? Bryson DeChambeau

Bryson DeChambeau

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DeChambeau said on 22 April that he hasn’t given up hope of signing a contract extension with LIV Golf.

In an interview with FlushingIt, the 32-year-old said: “As long as LIV is here, I would figure out a way for it to make sense.

“We’re still working on a potential contract. I haven’t given up on that and I think there will be a solution. 

“But as of right now, my job is to help make the league work after this year.

“I just feel like I have a responsibility. I’ve put a lot of effort into it. So that’s what I’m going to do – we’re going to make this work.

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“It’s a start-up, right? And so there’s going to be times where we’re squeezed and punched. This is one of those moments.

“But I’m going to do everything in my power to make it work and I really see the value in franchise golf.”

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PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said he was monitoring the situation with LIV Golf.  

Rolapp said he wouldn’t discuss hypotheticals but admitted the Tour were thinking about how to handle potential returns. 

“Those guys are under contract and we’ll respect that,” he said. 

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“Brooks came back because he made a phone call and said, ‘I’m out of my contract, I’m ready to come back.’ 

“So we are thinking about it. We’ll react when we have an opportunity to react.”

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