What now for Rahm, DeChambeau and LIV's biggest names?

Breaking news from the world of sport: What now for Rahm, DeChambeau and LIV's biggest names? Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are two of the the biggest names on the LIV tour By Iain Carter Golf correspondent Published 11 minutes ago As it headed for the LIV exit door, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund claimed that it "forever changed the game of golf". And there can be little argument that PIF's £3.

8bn investment over nearly five years turned the pro game upside down. It also made many players, on both sides of golf's great divide, very wealthy men. The numbers involved are extraordinary and prompted the PGA Tour to find funding to stem an exit flow of talent that was attracted to the breakaway tour and threatened the future of the golfing establishment.

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But now, LIV's future has never been less certain. With Saudi Arabia walking away , a new board is scrambling to find funds to sustain the league beyond this 2026 season. Questions surround the futures of some of the biggest names in the sport.

Jon Rahm signed with LIV in December 2023 for a reported $300m (£222m). In two completed seasons, he has earned nearly $92. But for all that financial security, his golfing future is unclear.

The Spaniard is banned from the PGA Tour for at least a year after refusing to take the deal that Brooks Koepka accepted in January, under a hastily drawn up returning member programme. Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, two other recent major winners, also turned down that offer, but Rahm is also in dispute with Europe's DP World Tour. The former Masters and US Open champion declined to pay fines and take a settlement that would have involved him playing a minimum of six events on the European tour.

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As it stands, he is not a member in good standing and therefore ineligible for Europe's Ryder Cup team. He has two years of his LIV contract to run, but the pin positions are shifting on how that might look next year. Saudi Arabia to stop funding LIV Golf next season Published 4 hours ago What will happen to LIV Golf after Saudi Arabia pull funding?

Published 4 hours ago Is this the beginning of the end for LIV Golf? Published 16 April DeChambeau's LIV contract is up at the end of this season and he was looking to a sign a lucrative new deal . As the game's most unique character and with a substantial influencer following, the two-time US Open winner is a crucial figure.

The task of new LIV directors Gene Davis and Jon Zinman is to raise investment to replace the Saudi billions. That would be less difficult with DeChambeau on board. But the 32-year-old American's signature will not come cheap.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.