The 10th event of the 2026 LIV Golf season keeps Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and the rest of the league’s best in England following The Open Championship for an annual stop in the United Kingdom. With just two individual events and the team championship left on the schedule, the future of LIV Golf and its top stars is becoming a bigger topic of conversation as the league rapidly approaches the end of its funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
While Rahm and DeChambeau are both dealing with uncertainty about the circuit’s future, they’re in different positions regarding their contract status. DeChambeau is set to become a free agent after his deal runs out at the end of the season, while Rahm is under contract for 2027. However, it’s not clear whether LIV will have the funding to meet the terms of his agreement next year.
Rahm spoke extensively about his future on Tuesday at CB Golf & Country Club. Asked whether he could share any light on what’s ahead for himself or LIV Golf as a whole, the Spaniard, unsurprisingly, played it coy.
“Well, we’re in contact with them,” Rahm said. “We know a lot of what’s going on. Not that I can share with you guys right now.”
Perhaps the most telling part of the exchange? Rahm literally shrugs off a question about whether he’ll be playing LIV Golf in 2027.
Adding to the intrigue of LIV’s future was the surprise announcement on Tuesday that the Asian Tour, which had previously been partnered with LIV Golf, has reached a new agreement to partner with the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, severing its prior ties. The Asian Tour had been central to LIV Golf’s plans, providing a feeder system into LIV Golf and also a place for golfers to play in off weeks if they wanted. Losing that partnership to the PGA Tour stings, and LIV Golf was reportedly blindsided by the decision.
For his part, Rahm’s comments are in line with how he’s talked about LIV Golf and his future from the start of rumblings that the PIF was pulling its funding. Rahm has taken a hands-off approach and seems comfortable waiting to see what LIV Golf is able to cobble together in terms of funding and a plan for 2027, and then figure out how or if he fits into those plans. His line about being optimistic — “I’m always optimistic. I mean, I play a game for a living. I can’t really be too upset about how things are going in life.” — exemplifies that approach.
Rahm is one of the few on LIV Golf in a position to feel calm about the future. There isn’t really a worst-case scenario for Rahm. Either LIV Golf finds the funding, and he gets his contractually allotted money next year, which pays him nearly $80 million, or they mutually agree to make him a free agent, and he goes to the PGA Tour and tries to work out a deal similar to the one Brooks Koepka signed to return.
Despite a mediocre season in the majors with just one top 10 — a T2 at the PGA Championship — Rahm still is a big-enough star and legitimate contender in tournaments; the PGA Tour would be willing to work out some deal to bring him back, even if it’s not quite as friendly as the offer extended earlier this year when Koepka returned.
In the meantime, Rahm will not commit to anything, knowing the worst thing he can do at this point is say something that he has to walk back later. He learned that lesson years ago when he pledged fealty to the PGA Tour, only to bolt for LIV Golf not long after.