Three Spaniards, one bankruptcy court and a sudden fondness for the DP World Tour.
When LIV Golf set out to buy the professional game, Spain lent it some of its most recognisable names: Sergio Garcia and a then-amateur David Puig at the launch in 2022, and Jon Rahm, the reigning Masters champion, at the end of 2023.
Within a single week this October, all three headed for the exit. The cheques, for the most part, have already cleared.
How LIV Ran Out of Road
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund decided to stop funding LIV at the end of 2026, having reportedly spent more than $5 billion on the project. On 8 September the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey, owing between $500 million and $1 billion to at least 1,000 creditors — Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau among the largest. (Al Jazeera, Skratch)
The rescue plan, LIV 2.0, promises a shorter schedule, player equity and a new lead investor. It also needs star players to make the sums work. A league built on the idea that money solves everything has discovered the drawback of not having any.
One Week in October
On 7 October Rahm’s lawyer told the bankruptcy court that the two-time major champion had reviewed the LIV 2.0 terms and found them unacceptable. He leaves with three consecutive LIV individual titles and, according to court filings, more than $100 million still owed on his contract. The same court released Garcia that week.
The following day Puig, 24, used the first round of the Open de España at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid to confirm he was out too: “I don’t see myself playing in the LIV 2.0.” He holds a full DP World Tour card and intends to use it. (Golf.com, Golf Monthly)
Who Is Left
Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed had already gone. Joaquin Niemann, LIV’s most prolific winner with nine individual titles, is reported to be next, while Cameron Smith and Tyrrell Hatton remain undecided.
The DP World Tour has helped them think it over: chief executive Guy Kinnings says anyone signing for LIV 2.0 will not hold membership next year. Richard Bland, 53, says he is staying. Somebody has to turn the lights off. (GolfMagic, Golf Digest)
Why It Matters If You Play Rather Than Watch
Rahm’s first stop is the Abu Dhabi Championship, 4–8 November, and he is expected to base himself in Europe in 2027. Puig plans a full European season. That puts Spain’s biggest names back on Spanish tees — this year the country staged DP World Tour events at Real Club de Golf El Prat near Barcelona in May and in Madrid in October. (Golf Digest)
Whether LIV ever returns to Valderrama, which hosted its Andalucía event in June, is anybody’s guess. Valderrama is not going anywhere, and nor are the rest of the Costa del Sol’s courses, the October sunshine or the pescaíto frito at lunch. The Spaniards have decided there is no place like home. They may have a point.
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