The best Spanish golfer since Seve Ballesteros, Jon Rahm from Biscay, did not show up at the Club de Campo de Madrid to compete in the Spanish Open, a tournament he holds dear and has already won twice.
The reason given for his withdrawal was the imminent birth of his daughter, the fourth child in the Barrika native’s family. However, it is more than likely that Rahm also did not want to have to provide too many explanations regarding his split with LIV Golf, the Saudi league, which the Spaniard has won in the three years he has competed in it: 2024, 2025, and 2026.
The formal announcement was not made by the golfer himself but by his American attorney, John Beck, of the law firm Dentons US LLP, during the hearing regarding the Saudi League’s restructuring process under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. According to Beck, “Mr. Rahm, after independently reviewing the proposed terms offered to him by LIV 2.0 [the newly restructured competition], has determined that they are unacceptable to him.”
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) decided to withdraw from the competition before last summer, after having contributed $5 billion and concluding that the expected goals—both in terms of media coverage and revenue from fan attendance, which was expected to be massive—had not been met.
At the same time, the worsening situation of an undeclared war in the Middle East—which has had serious repercussions in the Kingdom of the Desert—prompted an immediate withdrawal from LIV Golf, leading the organization’s leadership to file for bankruptcy last September under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This process allowed for a supervised legal restructuring, rather than the immediate liquidation of the company and the resulting complete halt of all its sporting and commercial activities.
Although there are still loose ends to be tied up regarding whether or not the upcoming season of LIV 2.0 will take place, the fact is that virtually all of its stars had begun exploring other paths for their professional careers as soon as they realized the truth behind the increasingly persistent rumors. And, as its biggest star, Jon Rahm’s decision to leave the Saudi tour dashes many hopes regarding its viability.
The drastic cut in earnings being proposed to the golfers eliminated the main incentive to stay. In Rahm’s case, according to the Financial Times, Rahm is owed more than $100 million, of which $7.4 million is from the third quarter of this year, when the PIF decided to pull out and LIV Golf was deprived of its vital financial contribution.
In any case, the Spanish golfer wants to reach a negotiated solution as soon as possible—one that should be agreed upon before mid-October and would be subject to judicial oversight and approval at a hearing already scheduled for November 5.
Rahm needs to definitively close the chapter on his Saudi chapter as soon as possible before deciding on his new athletic roadmap. As a member of the DP World Tour, he will now be able to compete in tournaments on that circuit, but he will not be able to do so on the PGA Tour, from which Rahm departed with a bang.
Of course, its American leaders won’t be rolling out the red carpet for him, judging by how they’ve treated other “prodigal sons” with major titles to their credit, such as Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed.
In addition to paying a hefty fine—disguised as a donation—they are barred for a set period from receiving a large portion of the profits allocated to players. Jon Rahm is no ordinary player, having already reached the pinnacle as the world’s best player.
However, the PGA has also demonstrated that it can subdue even the greatest champions and continue to maintain its dominance in world golf.
The reality is that LIV Golf was created to challenge the American Professional Golfers’ Association and contest its overwhelming dominance. To that end, it poached not only Rahm but also several of the world’s most decorated champions from the PGA Tour. Four years and $5 billion later, the PGA has knocked out its Saudi challenger.