Jon Rahm cites LIV revamp concerns after leaving league

Jon Rahm has explained that uncertainty over LIV Golf's proposed overhaul and concerns about its team format drove his decision to leave the league. According to BBC Sport's reporting on Tuesday, the Spaniard said the revised competition no longer reflected the project that had attracted him.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7GptaLDaOw

Rahm said he had liked LIV's original concept but was unconvinced by the changes planned for its next version. In his view, the proposed structure was moving away from team golf and towards a more conventional tournament. He said he had not seriously considered continuing under those arrangements.

His comments follow the separation agreement reported by BBC Sport on 16 October. That report said Rahm had waived his financial claim to secure his departure. Citing ESPN, the BBC put the unpaid remainder of his contract at about $100 million, or £75 million. That figure was reported as money still owed under the agreement he signed when joining LIV in December 2023.

The earlier BBC report also detailed LIV's financial difficulties. The league sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in September after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund ended its backing. Rahm was listed as its largest unsecured creditor, with $7.4 million owed for the remainder of the 2026 season alone. Potential financing of $300 million from BC Partners Credit was intended to support a relaunch.

Under the exit arrangement described by the BBC, Rahm would retain the rights to Legion XIII, the name of the team he captained. Those rights came with a restriction preventing him from using the name for a team in TGL, the indoor competition launched by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Rahm had won a third consecutive LIV season title in August before agreeing to leave.

A PGA Tour return remains unresolved. Rahm said he did not know whether an arrangement similar to Brooks Koepka's return would be available to him, although he would probably accept the same penalties. He also said that, if required to serve a one-year suspension, he would welcome spending that period competing on the DP World Tour.