SerpApi.Org
Jon Rahm kept his cards close to his chest when asked for his thoughts on LIV Golf's future as the league faces a race against time in its fight for survival.
LIV returns from a seven-week hiatus at JCB Golf & Country Club in Uttoxeter, England, on Thursday, and Rahm faced questions about the league's chances of enduring its financial woes at a press conference on Tuesday.
The breakaway league is searching for investment in the region of $300 million to keep the lights on for next year after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced it will cease funding at the end of this season.
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The sovereign wealth fund has plowed billions of dollars into the league since it launched in 2022, but the PIF announced in April that the project was "no longer consistent" with its investment strategy, which shifted in light of the United States and Israel's war with Iran.
The campaign concludes with the Team Championship in late August, and the clock is ticking for the league's CEO, Scott O'Neil, and his executive team to secure the investment required to prevent the league's demise.
Rahm has been preoccupied with the U.S. Open and The Open Championship since LIV last played in Spain in early June, and he has chosen to take an arm's-length approach and has not immersed himself in business meetings, unlike the league's other superstar, Bryson DeChambeau.
Two-time major champion Rahm says he has been kept in the loop on developments, but when asked if he expects to play on LIV in 2027, he said: "I'm not going to share anything that I can't share with you guys right now."
He took a similar stance when asked if he had received any clarity about the league's future, telling reporters: "Well, we're in contact with [league bosses]. We know a lot of what's going on, yeah. Not that I can share with you guys right now."
The 31-year-old was philosophical when asked whether he is hopeful that LIV will endure its cash crisis. "I'm always optimistic," he replied.
"I play a game for a living. I can't really be too upset about how things are going in life. Even though I'm very frustrated on the course very often, off the course I'm very different to what a lot of people think."
Rahm said in June that he had no interest in being at the heart of the league's search for new investors, which has focused on U.S. private equity.
"It would be more of a stay-in-your-lane type situation, as it goes to me," he told reporters. "I know nothing about business. I'm never going to claim to know anything about business, and if I were 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.
"But if any player who knows what they're doing is willing to do certain things like that, I think it can only help. To have insight from a player on a meeting like that can help, and I'm open for any suggestions possible."
