Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm’s futures are in question after LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil failed to confirm whether the stars will stay in the league.
O’Neil spoke to the press after announcing that LIV had secured a new investment package that will help drive the league into its “new era”.
The league’s future has been up in the air after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced in April that it would withdraw its backing at the end of the season.
With the new investment, LIV’s upcoming season looks to be in a stronger position, but its personnel may not be, as O’Neil did not say if Rahm and DeChambeau will be featuring.
When asked about the importance of keeping the pair, he said: “Yeah, it’s wonderful. We’ve been blessed with stars. I define it a little bit differently, and for those of you who have had the privilege and pleasure to travel with us around the world, you get to see it.
“But I don’t think there was any bigger star on the planet in South Africa than Dean Burmester. And I don’t think there was any bigger star on the planet than Cam Smith when we were in Australia.
“I think when you have a global game, and you have 57 players from 21 countries, and you’re playing in 10 countries on five continents, how you define stars gets really interesting.
“So while I have all the time in the world for Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, I think I’d be remiss in saying they’re not only two of the biggest, best golfers on the planet, but I think they’re some of the biggest stars in sports, let alone golf.”
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil failed to confirm whether Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm will stay in the league
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O’Neil continued: “Would certainly love them to come along for the ride and journey because they carry maybe more weight than anybody in the game, and I have a lot of time for that.
“I think we have enough support from enough players, and we have such an interesting format and global format, I think we’ll do quite well in getting the right stars for this game.”
DeChambeau appears more set to stay than Rahm after hosting a players’ meeting yesterday and has publicly stated his commitment to continue with the league.
Meanwhile, Rahm’s position appears more tenable after refusing to commit his future to the breakaway league.
Scott O’Neil honed in on other key players in the league rather than mentioning the pair
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The Spaniard will have a nine-figure sum outstanding on his contract once this current season comes to an end.
In May, he struck a deal to play on the DP World Tour, which paved the way for his return to the European circuit and qualifying for the Ryder Cup.
Rahm forked out a fee understood to be approximately $3million (£2.21m) in fines accumulated since 2024.
Jon Rahm is the highest-earner at LIV Golf | GETTY
A spokesman for the DP World Tour said: “The DP World Tour and Jon Rahm have come to an agreement on conditional releases to play in conflicting tournaments on LIV Golf during the remainder of its 2026 season.
“This involves payment of all outstanding fines accrued from 2024 to date, along with participation in agreed DP World Tour tournaments (outside the Majors) in the remainder of the 2026 season.”
Rahm won the Masters back in 2023 and is arguably the biggest name on the league’s circuit.
