NEWARK — Jon Rahm is officially leaving LIV Golf after determining the terms of its proposed next iteration are unacceptable, as the circuit restructures following a bankruptcy filing and the withdrawal of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Rahm joined LIV Golf in December of 2023 in one of the most high-profile defections from the PGA Tour, and a little less than three years later the league will move forward without one of the sport's biggest stars.
The decision was confirmed Wednesday during a hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey Judge Michael B. Kaplan, where Rahm's attorney John Beck addressed the league's path forward. "Mr. Rahm has independently reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0 and has determined that those terms are unacceptable to him, and he will not be participating going forward in LIV 2.0," Beck said via ESPN.
LIV Golf is attempting to chart a path forward following its bankruptcy announcement and restructuring. With the Public Investment Fund pulling out of the venture, the proposed LIV 2.0 framework was presented to stakeholders, which Rahm has now rejected.
What comes next for the international star remains unclear. A return to the PGA Tour would seem to be the obvious answer, however PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said last month the Tour currently had no plans to bring back the Returning Member Program, which would allow former LIV Golf stars like Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith to return under certain conditions. While Rahm is not a member of the PGA Tour, he is a member of the DP World Tour in Europe after resolving his dispute back in May.
ESPN reports Rahm could be owed as much as $100 million from LIV Golf as the organization goes through its bankruptcy restructuring.