Tour Confidential: Can LIV Golf survive without Jon Rahm?

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Jon Rahm’s decision to decline LIV 2.0 and what the PGA Tour should do about it.

Jon Rahm is officially out of LIV Golf 2.0, his lawyer announced last week, a major blow to the league that’s already treading water after recently filing for bankruptcy. With already few stars, can LIV Golf survive without Rahm on board?

Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): Any league is only as strong as its stars, so Rahm leaving is obviously a massive loss. You need these tentpoles to market your product and bring in eyeballs, and LIV already has so few of them. Rahm is kind of like a Jenga piece — pulling his block alone doesn’t bring down the whole tower, but pull a few more blocks and things can come crashing down in a hurry. 

Sean Zak, senior writer: Just because it continues doesn’t necessarily mean much. But losing Rahm is absolutely massive, even if it was expected. He was one of two LIV golfers the world cared about during majors. He was one of only a few LIV golfers who contended in majors. The league can survive in an extremely trimmed-down derivative form, which it has planned to do for the last few months. But it all feels a bit like a golf league in hospice. 

Zephyr Melton, associate game-improvement editor (@zephyrmelton): Survive in terms of continuing to stage professional golf tournaments? Likely yes. Survive in terms of being a major player in the global golf landscape? No chance. Without the names they are losing, the tour is no different than the Sunshine Tour or Challenge Tour. 

A couple other Spaniards — Sergio Garcia and David Puig — also appear out at LIV, although the Rahm news was certainly the headliner. If you’re a LIV player right now with options, what are you thinking? Is Rahm’s departure the start of an exodus?

Berhow: There are a lot of LIV players who don’t have as many options, so their spot in the league feels more secure. But they aren’t the ones you really have to worry about. There’s just a handful you really need to watch. What’s Joaquin Niemann thinking? What about Tyrrell Hatton? And, most importantly, how does Rahm leaving affect Bryson DeChambeau’s decision? Bryson is more marketable than Rahm, and now all eyes are on him and what he might decide to do. He holds a lot of power when it comes to LIV’s future, but ironically not so much with the PGA Tour, which Bryson needs more than it needs Bryson.

Zak: Rahm’s a precedent, which is all LIV has ever really been. Phil Mickelson set the precedent by committing early on. So did Dustin Johnson. This is a precedent in the opposite direction. I’m not sure Rahm’s inclusion matters too much to, say, Cameron Smith, but I think a lot of golf fans wish it mattered to Cameron Smith. Which is to say, if a league with only a handful of top players loses its best player, it really should inspire others to follow his path. I’ll just wait and watch, much like I did in the summer of ‘22. 

Melton: I’d expect those without solid status elsewhere to stay, but for those who can secure a soft landing, LIV will be in the rearview mirror. They already cashed in on their payday. No reason to stick around. 

What does the PGA Tour, and CEO Brian Rolapp, do now? Rahm didn’t accept the deal that was offered to Brooks Koepka via the Returning Member Program, and Rolapp has not sounded keen on rolling out the red carpet for LIV players who wish to return. But should he make an exception for Rahm? Is the one-year suspension fair? What do you think will and should happen?

Berhow: Rolapp has said the Returning Member Program had an expiration date, and I think it would be a terrible look to bring back Rahm immediately and with only a few slaps on the wrist. Yes, he would make the PGA Tour stronger. (I want Scottie and Rory battling Rahm more often just like everyone else.) But he also decided to take hundreds of millions of dollars and go to a league that was trying to bury the other. I think a one-year suspension, where we see Rahm on the DP World Tour and at majors, at a minimum, is sufficient. And if the penalty is something like that, and you are a player on the PGA Tour, are you OK with that? I’d still have a bad taste in my mouth.

Zak: I actually think Rolapp shouldn’t make any exemption for anyone. There’s a clear pathway through the DP World Tour. If Rolapp wants to widen it a touch, in to the 2028 Championship Series, now would be the time — before those pathways have all been decided — to slip some access through without many people noticing. That would give him a lot of credit with the 150 or so other players who he’s asking to fight for their future next year. Why shouldn’t Rahm have to fight just as hard, or harder?

Melton: I agree with Zak. If you can play your way back, fine. But there should be no special treatment for those who passed up their opportunity to come back in the past. The Tour has proven it can survive without them — and will continue to.

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It was just three years ago that LIV shocked the golf world by luring Rahm, then the reigning Masters champion, away from the PGA Tour. But now Rahm, at some point, will likely play on the PGA Tour again. What will Rahm’s LIV stint mean for his legacy?

Berhow: It’s always going to come down to how many majors someone won or their Ryder Cup heroics, and Rahm, already with two major titles and a strong Ryder Cup resume, should be fine in those departments. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t win at least another major title. But years from now you can’t tell his story without the chapter that included him ditching the Tour for money and then leaving when things predictably didn’t go as planned. I’m sure he won’t lose much sleep over it. Way back when some of this rival golf league chatter started six years ago, Rory McIlroy said he wasn’t interested and wanted to be on the “right side of history.” Regardless of what you think of Rory, I think there’s something to that. 

Zak: I think Josh will end up being correct, even if it feels generous right now. It’ll be three years, in the end, that Rahm played at LIV, and during those years he absolutely dominated that competition. He just didn’t dominate the rest of pro golf. He dominated in the Ryder Cup. And he contended in a few majors — just not many. I think you can overcome any lingering weirdness pretty easily by playing good golf for the next few years. But I’m not sure his LIV stint will ever look good on paper.

Melton: As the old saying goes, winning cures everything. If Rahm gets back to his winning ways post-LIV, all will be forgiven. If not, it’ll go down as one of the biggest what-ifs in golf history.

Twenty players earned 2027 PGA Tour membership via the Korn Ferry Tour Championship on Sunday, among them 19-year-old Blades Brown, who now becomes the youngest player to graduate to the PGA Tour via the Korn Ferry Tour. Brown has been a rising star for years, but now we’ll get to see him even more on the big stage. Is the hype real? Why should golf fans be excited?

Zak: Let’s put it this way — Blades Brown is closer in age to No. 6 Am Miles Russell, who is still in high school, than Jackson Koivun, who just splashed on the scene in a major way. I use that to say, Brown made it to the PGA Tour his way and is barely outta high school. This wasn’t just a hot month that got him there. He’s absolutely the real deal and I’m excited to watch a full season of him at the top level. Hopefully he can hang, and even get in to the Signature Events. (I suspect he might get a sponsor’s exemption nod or two.)

Berhow: The potential is certainly there, but will he deliver? We’ll have to wait and find out, and I think it’s fair to give him some time, too. We’ve seen several “can’t miss” prospects struggle to make an immediate impact on the PGA Tour lately, with Koivun being the main exception. But it’s going to be a lot of fun seeing what Blades can do next year and a nice little storyline to watch.

Melton: Love me some Blades Brown. Unfortunately there’s no telling how his game will translate to the next level. We’ve seen can’t miss prospects flop before. 

Speaking of those 20 Korn Ferry Tour graduates, give our readers one pro — not named Blades Brown — they should have on their radar.

Zak: I’m excited to watch Dylan Menante, better known as the fastest player in golf. I’d love to watch him and Ludvig Aberg go off first in a 2-ball and set a proper pace for everyone. Every KFT player talks about how fast Dylan plays, and the numbers back it up. I chatted with him about pace of play back in May, which you can take a look at here. 

Berhow: There’s a good mix, per usual, of young talent and more experienced 30-somethings finally earning their cards, but I think it’s worth highlighting the guy who won the whole points-race thing, Ross Steelman. Only because strong Korn Ferry Tour seasons do translate well to the big stage, and Steelman won twice and had nine top-10 finishes. Also, he rocks a great mustache.

Melton: Cole Sherwood. Former college teammate of Gordon Sargent who has steadily progressed through pro golf since leaving Vanderbilt. He may not be as flashy as some others, but he’s a damn solid player.