\t\t\t\tLIV Golf\u2019s future at further risk as Jon Rahm considers leaving on the breakaway league\u2026<\/p>\n
Bryson DeChambeau wanted to be heard at LIV Golf New York.<\/p>\n
First DeChambeau led a players\u2019 meeting at Trump Bedminster \u2013 the site of what will now be LIV\u2019s penultimate event of the season \u2013 that lasted half an hour and focused on the league\u2019s investor search. <\/p>\n
Then he ended his self-imposed mainstream media blackout to tell the world that he is \u201c100% sure\u201d of LIV\u2019s future and believes in the post-Saudi direction \u2013 but audaciously also wants to combine its new schedule with starts on the PGA Tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Sunday, DeChambeau boasted that LIV\u2019s unnamed new \u201clead investor\u201d \u2013 widely believed to be private equity and credit firm BC Partners \u2013 has an exciting vision for the league\u2019s future. \u201cIf we\u2019re able to get the players all aligned, which I feel like it\u2019ll happen in some capacity, I think it\u2019ll happen,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n But DeChambeau\u2019s tub-thumping during another week of rampant uncertainty skewed with the conspicuous silence of LIV\u2019s other most important figure. <\/p>\n Jon Rahm has not voiced his opinion on the league\u2019s precarious future since being directly asked at LIV Golf UK last month if he will be a LIV player next season. \u201cI\u2019m not going to share anything that I can\u2019t share with you guys right now,\u201d Rahm replied at JCB Golf & Country Club. <\/p>\n Those who have followed Rahm\u2019s unprecedented situation closely, therefore, won\u2019t be stunned to learn the Telegraph<\/a>\u2018s revelation that LIV sources are \u201calmost resigned\u201d to losing him at the end of the season. The burly Spaniard, it would appear, is not as sold on LIV 2.0 as his fellow two-time major champion. <\/p>\n With the upcoming $40 million team finale in Michigan now set to be cancelled<\/a> \u2013 though inexplicably there has been no official confirmation from the league \u2013 there is an increasing possibility that Rahm could make his final LIV appearance in Indianapolis next week.<\/p>\n And for that there are likely myriad reasons. <\/p>\n Rahm has two years left on his contract but TG has been told by a well-placed source that outstanding payments from his signing on fee well exceed the $100 million mark. The news of Saudi\u2019s Public Investment Fund withdrawing its support from the league likely ended his hopes of banking the totality of that mouthwatering sum.<\/p>\n LIV chief executive Scott O\u2019Neil is offering his star players equity in the league\u2019s next chapter, bullishly telling reporters that \u201cthe chance to get to steward a league where it\u2019s majority owned by players, which has never been done before in the history of sports, is more than special.\u201d<\/p>\n But would a significant lump of equity in this new and unproven product placate Rahm? That seems vital to the league\u2019s chances of survival after various reports that O\u2019Neil\u2019s deal with new investors could well hinge on his ability to convince his biggest stars to stay. <\/p>\n There was the blow of LIV losing its main partner, the Asian Tour, to the DP World Tour and PGA Tour last month, which threatens Rahm\u2019s pursuit of continuing to earn world ranking points because LIV no longer has a direct pathway to appease the OWGR\u2019s criteria<\/a>. <\/p>\n But the DP World Tour has since turned up the heat<\/a>. Nine LIV players \u2013 including Rahm \u2013 who signed conditional agreements to play on the league this season without incurring fines and suspensions for breaching the DP World Tour\u2019s conflicting rules policy have been told the same terms will not be offered in 2027. Rahm signed a separate deal to his LIV colleagues after reticence at being imposed with fines \u2013 but eventually committed to a settlement that will see him play one additional event on the circuit.<\/p>\n LIV are working on salvaging a leaner 10-event schedule and know that their players will need opportunities elsewhere to keep sharp. But if Rahm were to stay, he would face sanctions from the DP World Tour and once again jeopardise his membership \u2013 and indeed his participation in the 2027 Ryder Cup. The rampant uncertainty at LIV has emboldened the DP World Tour\u2019s hardline stance. <\/p>\n Rahm was only able to play on the European side last year at Bethpage on the basis he was appealing his fines, but waved those fines when he signed the one-year agreement with the DP World Tour. Therefore, the only way for Rahm can be sure to avoid another messy scenario with Wentworth HQ, with the matches at Adare Manor now just over a year out, would be to cut ties with LIV entirely.<\/p>\n Rahm and his team have plenty to consider while LIV aim to close a deal with an investor that could be contingent on his involvement. <\/p>\n His path back to the European game is straightforward, but the bigger mystery surrounds the PGA Tour and whether he will be extended another olive branch to make an immediate return. At the start of the season, Rahm rejected the chance to follow Brooks Koepka back to the US circuit via the tour\u2019s Returning Members Program<\/a>. At that stage, as the Saudis continued plowing their millions into LIV, the landscape seemed relatively stable. <\/p>\n Now, though, Rahm aligning with DeChambeau and entering another unknown is a much more treacherous prospect. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LIV Golf\u2019s future at further risk as Jon Rahm considers leaving on the breakaway league\u2026 Bryson DeChambeau wanted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":736899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-736898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=736898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/736899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=736898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=736898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}