Jon Rahm said he will not take on a business or investor-facing role as LIV Golf searches for new financial backers, drawing a clear line between his job as a player and the league’s off-course restructuring efforts.
Speaking to reporters before LIV Golf Andalucía this week, the 31-year-old two-time major champion said he is “staying in his own lane” while the league works to secure its future.
“I know nothing about business,” Rahm said. “I’m never going to claim to know anything about business, and if I was in a business pitch, I would not know the first thing to say. My job is to play golf, and I’ll say it’s hard enough as it is, especially this week.”
PIF funding and LIV’s next phase
The comments come as the breakaway circuit faces a funding shift. In March, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced it would withdraw financial support for LIV Golf at the end of the 2026 season, saying the longer-term investment was “no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF’s investment strategy.”
LIV responded by announcing what it called a “strategic evolution,” which included the creation of a new independent board led by Gene Davis and Jon Zinman. The league said it is pursuing “long-term financial partners” and a “diversified, multi-partner investment model.” PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan stepped down from LIV’s board as part of the transition.
Reports indicate the league is seeking between $250 million and $350 million in outside investment. According to Sports Business Journal, LIV spends more than $40 million per event, making the fundraising challenge considerable.
DeChambeau’s contrasting approach
While Rahm steps back from the business side, fellow LIV star Bryson DeChambeau has taken the opposite approach. The 32-year-old two-time major winner has personally attended investor pitches alongside LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil.
Rahm said he supports the idea of player involvement in those meetings, but acknowledged he does not have the bandwidth for it.
“To have insight from a player on a meeting like that can help, and I’m open for any suggestions possible,” Rahm said. “But I would also say I don’t have the free time that Bryson has to be flying around the country to attend meetings with three little ones and one on the way. Even if I wanted to, I don’t know if I could do it.”
DeChambeau said last week that the PIF’s decision to pull funding caught him off guard, as he had been under the assumption that backing would be in place until at least 2032.
Team format and playing mindset
LIV’s investment pitch reportedly centres on international tournaments, using high attendance figures from events in Australia and South Africa as benchmarks. There has also been speculation that the league may lean further into its team format, potentially adding events that drop individual scoring entirely.
Asked whether he would welcome strictly team-only events on the schedule, Rahm said his approach would not change.
“You still need to shoot or want to shoot the lowest possible, whether you’re playing individually or as a team,” he said. “Whether it happens or not, I don’t think my approach would change whatsoever.”
Rahm also welcomed the return of Tyrrell Hatton to his Legion XIII squad for this week’s event in Spain. Hatton missed LIV Golf Korea to attend the birth of his first child.
As LIV Golf seeks new backing, Rahm says his focus remains on playing.
