Washington (United States) (AFP) – Jon Rahm, thrilled at a new deal allowing him to play on the DP World Tour, said Tuesday he expects LIV Golf players must make concessions to save the series. The 31-year-old Spaniard, a former world number one, spoke ahead of this week’s LIV Golf Virginia event at Trump National Washington. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which had promised long-term support for the series, says it will pull funding after this 2026 campaign concludes.
While LIV Golf chief executive officer Scott O’Neil seeks new backers, two-time defending LIV season champion Rahm says players will likely face compromises if the series is to continue. “It’s a team effort. It’s not about one person agreeing or not. We all, as captains and team owners and players involved in the league, need to in essence have a large majority to agree on for it to work,” Rahm said. “I do believe that for the business plan to change, whatever they’re coming up with, there will need to be some concessions on our part.”
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Several big names jumped to LIV Golf from the PGA Tour, which banned those players from its events. Some players have made the move back, such as five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, but a return path for others remains uncertain. Rahm, for his part, said he likes where he is at with LIV. “We want to be here. It has been a lot of fun. I want to keep competing. I want to keep sharing some time with them,” Rahm said. “But only time will tell. Scott and his team have a lot of hard work to do, but obviously they’re experienced in the area, and that’s why they’ve been chosen to take this role.”
Rahm, the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters champion, jumped in 2024 and won the past two season crowns. This year, in his final tune-up for next week’s PGA Championship, Rahm has won LIV titles at Hong Kong in March and Mexico City in April. Rahm ended a long-running issue on Tuesday as the DP World Tour announced they reached a deal with Rahm allowing him to play on the European circuit this year while paying all outstanding fines since his 2024 jump to LIV. “There’s no longer a standoff. We were able to reach an agreement,” Rahm said. “There was some concessions on both sides. I offered some, they extended an olive branch. That will not be a stress anymore.”
Rahm will no longer have to worry about his place on the Europe side for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland or future stops. “The Ryder Cup is still really far away, but I’m happy that hopefully I won’t have to think about any worries or any predicaments (ahead of) Adare Manor then or hopefully ever,” Rahm said. “I want to support the DP World Tour. There’s a lot of events I want to play.”
– ‘Don’t see many ways out’ –
When it comes to getting out of his LIV contract, Rahm said he isn’t worrying about that for now. “I have several years on my contract left and I’m pretty sure they did a pretty good job when they drafted that,” Rahm said. “I don’t see many ways out, and as of right now, I’m not really thinking about it since we still have a season to play and majors to compete for.” Rahm said players had been told there would be funding for many years from PIF, so learning last month of the Saudis’ financial pullback was a shock.
© 2024 AFP
