Jon Rahm will leave LIV Golf at the end of the current season. At least, that is what several internal sources within the Saudi league consulted by The Telegraph are effectively taking as a given. The British paper published an exclusive on Thursday saying there is a growing conviction within the circuit that the Spaniard will depart and adds a particularly relevant detail: the DP World Tour has reportedly already been informed of his intentions.
For now, according to what Ten Golf has learned, this information cannot be dismissed at all and has its basis, although both Jon Rahm and those around him remain tight-lipped, not least because the major difficulty of this move is how to resolve the contract that binds Jon to LIV and which runs until 2028, especially if the league guarantees its continuity for another year.
The final decision has not yet been made nor officially communicated. Rahm is expected to wait to see whether LIV manages to secure the financing needed to continue in 2027 and under what conditions that scaled-back version of the project would operate. That is the whole legal issue. However, according to the report by James Corrigan, golf editor at The Telegraph, several sources within LIV already appear resigned to his exit.
The future for the two-time major winner would likely involve a stable return to the DP World Tour in 2027 and using the European circuit as a route to subsequently regain his place in the United States. The roadmap envisages a primarily European season next year and a jump back to the PGA TOUR in 2028, although that latter move will depend on the conditions set by the US circuit. In other words, it should not be ruled out that we could see Jon playing on the PGA TOUR in 2027 if an agreement were reached
This is no small matter. Rahm was LIV Golf’s marquee signing when he accepted an offer close to $300 million to join the project in 2024. The Spaniard still has two years left on his contract and, according to The Telegraph, is owed a nine-figure sum corresponding to that signing bonus.
The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia could pay all or part of that amount as part of a buyout agreement. Another possibility would be to convert the outstanding money into an equity stake in LIV 2.0. In any case, the sources consulted by the British paper say that Rahm is not particularly attracted to the new model being proposed. That could be the exit formula. If the way of receiving that money is through shares and Jon does not accept that idea, he could be released, although the terms would have to be agreed
A version of LIV with ten tournaments and reduced prize funds
The future format of LIV would feature only ten events and significantly smaller prize funds. The league needs to find external financing after the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which has put more than $5 billion into the project since its inception, decided to withdraw its financial backing at the end of the current season.
Scott O’Neil, LIV’s chief executive, announced last week the signing of a term sheet with a lead investor. The Financial Times later identified that potential partner as BC Partners, a London-based private equity and credit finance firm.
Keeping the big names could be a fundamental condition for the deal to go ahead. That is why Rahm’s departure could become a double blow for LIV: it would lose its most important signing and, at the same time, make it harder to bring in the capital essential to survive in 2027.
Bryson DeChambeau has clearly expressed his commitment to the project. Rahm, by contrast, has avoided making a firm statement about his future. His silence, combined with information from inside LIV and the moves already known to the DP World Tour, fuels the possibility that his third season in the league could also be his last
The DP World Tour already knows his intentions
This is perhaps the most relevant element of the report. The Telegraph maintains that the DP World Tour has already been readied to welcome Rahm in 2027 and is aware of his intention to return to playing regularly in Europe.
The scenario aligns with the decisions the player has made in recent months. Rahm reached an agreement with the circuit’s headquarters at Wentworth to settle the fines and suspensions he had pending for playing in LIV tournaments. The sanctions exceeded $2 million. In return, he retained his membership and committed to play in five tournaments during the 2026 season.
Maintaining that membership status was essential to remain eligible for the 2027 Ryder Cup. Without that agreement, Rahm would have lost his rights on the circuit and, with them, the possibility of representing Europe at Adare Manor.
The situation will change next year. The DP World Tour considers it “very unlikely” to grant conditional releases like those agreed for this season again. If Rahm were to remain in LIV, he would again be exposed to fines and suspensions, which would once more put his membership and his place in the Ryder Cup at risk.
The same problem affects Tyrrell Hatton, Rahm’s team-mate at Legion XIII and his usual partner in the European team, as well as Tom McKibbin and Adrian Meronk. They will all have to choose between continuing in LIV under more modest economic and sporting conditions or fully reclaiming their place in mainstream golf
The road to the PGA TOUR
A return to the PGA TOUR would not necessarily be immediate. The US circuit could offer Rahm terms similar to those it offered Brooks Koepka earlier this year, but it could also impose a one-season suspension, as it did with Patrick Reed.
In that second scenario, Rahm would spend 2027 competing on the DP World Tour and would try to regain his US card via the qualification that each season awards PGA TOUR playing rights to the top players on the European circuit who are not yet members.
That route would place his return to the United States in 2028. It is not yet an official schedule nor a closed decision by the PGA TOUR, but it is the itinerary that emerges from the information published by The Telegraph: exit from LIV at the end of 2026, a full season in Europe in 2027 and a return to the US circuit a year later.
Rahm has earned more than $90 million in prize money and bonuses during his three seasons in LIV. The financial aspect, therefore, can hardly by itself explain his possible departure. The report instead points to a desire to recover the place he occupied in world golf before accepting the Saudi offer
Uncertainty takes hold at LIV
Rahm’s potential goodbye comes at the most uncertain moment in LIV’s history. The circuit has already informed its players of the cancellation of the Team Grand Final that was due to be played in two weeks in Michigan. Thus, next week’s event in Indiana will bring the 2026 season to an early close.
No one yet knows for certain what will happen next. Bubba Watson acknowledged this week, during the Danish Golf Championship, that the 57 LIV players had been called to a meeting to discuss the future of the league.
“You can’t say whether you’re in or out until you find out what is actually happening, what options you have and how everything will be”, the American explained. “I have the option. I can walk away or I can keep playing”.
