TGD – This Week In Golf – Jon Rahm Walks Away as LIV Golf’s Clock Runs Down (October 17, 2026)

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The PGA Tour took the week off, but the biggest story in professional golf played out in a New Jersey bankruptcy court. Jon Rahm, the two-time major champion who was once LIV Golf’s biggest signing, is officially out of the league, and LIV itself is now days away from learning whether it has a future at all.

Rahm’s separation agreement was filed this week, and on Wednesday a federal judge approved a key financing deal that gives LIV one last chance to relaunch as “LIV 2.0.” Whether it gets there depends on the players, and they’re heading for the exits.

Rahm walks away from a fortune

At LIV’s October 7 hearing, Rahm’s attorney, John Beck, told the court his client had reviewed the proposed LIV 2.0 terms, found them “unacceptable,” and would not take part. The separation agreement that followed makes it official, and it comes at a steep price.

Rahm is giving up his claims against LIV’s bankruptcy estate, reportedly worth more than $100 million still owed on the deal he signed in December 2023. In return, he gets back his name, image and likeness rights, including the “Rahmbo” nickname and his LIV team, Legion XIII. Court documents bar him from using the Legion XIII name if he joins TGL, the indoor league affiliated with the PGA Tour.

It’s a remarkable reversal. Rahm was the reigning Masters champion and ranked No. 3 in the world when he jumped to LIV, a move that was considered a major coup for the league. He won four times on LIV and claimed the season-long individual title in each of his three seasons there. Where he plays in 2027 is still an open question.

Where LIV stands

LIV has been on life support since Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which spent more than $5 billion on the league, stopped funding it after the 2026 season. The league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey on September 8.

On Wednesday, Judge Michael B. Kaplan approved LIV’s restructuring support agreement with investment firm BC Partners, which includes $300 million in financing for a relaunch. Under the proposed LIV 2.0 terms, players would receive signing bonuses and a 52.5% ownership stake in the league. The judge also approved LIV’s motion to reject the existing contracts of 19 golfers, Bryson DeChambeau among them, which LIV says no longer fit the new compensation structure.

The catch: BC Partners only has to follow through if LIV signs enough players to function as a real league. And the list of departures keeps growing. Sergio Garcia was released from his contract on October 5. David Puig, Abraham Ancer and Adrian Meronk all exited in recent days. Brooks Koepka had already left. With Rahm gone too, LIV has lost two of its three biggest stars, and DeChambeau is effectively a free agent.

The pressure is coming from the other tours too. DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings said this week that golfers who play LIV 2.0 would be banned from the European circuit, and LIV’s attorneys responded in court by accusing the DP World Tour of interfering in the bankruptcy.

What to watch

  • October 20: LIV’s next bankruptcy hearing.
  • October 25: Deadline for players to commit to LIV 2.0. BC Partners can waive it.
  • End of October: LIV’s attorney told the judge the league expects to know by month’s end whether LIV 2.0 moves forward or the league winds down.

For golf fans, the next two weeks could settle one of the sport’s biggest questions of the past five years. If LIV can’t sign enough players, the breakaway league that split men’s professional golf in 2022 could be finished. If it survives, it will look very different, and very likely without the stars that made it matter.

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