On the Course
While the headlines surrounding LIV Golf’s future dominated much of the year, Rahm ensured there was plenty to talk about on the course, too.
The Spaniard completed his third campaign with LIV Golf by securing yet another individual title, extending his remarkable run of success since making the switch from the PGA TOUR.
Rahm made a fast start to the season with back-to-back runner-up finishes in Riyadh and Adelaide, followed by his first victory of the campaign in Hong Kong.
His next triumph came three events later in Mexico City, where he produced one of his most decisive individual wins since joining LIV Golf. It was a statement response to his playoff defeat to Bryson DeChambeau in South Africa a few weeks earlier.
The second half of the season wasn’t as smooth sailing for the Legion XIII captain, who managed just one top-five finish in his following five starts. He ended the season in more positive fashion thanks to a runner-up finish in Indianapolis but due to his dominance during the opening half of the campaign, Rahm ended the season with yet more silverware.
“Yeah, the last two weeks haven’t been the best, have they,” Rahm said following his T41 finish in New York, his lowest standing of the season. “I would say proud of earlier in the season. I think to start off as well as I did with a few second places and not getting the win and then going to Hong Kong and getting it done when I needed to, having a lead and then basically losing it and birdieing four in a row in the last few holes was probably the most proud moment.”
He added: “It’s been great. It’s been a great year. Again, a little sour taste in my mouth because of how badly I played this week. But it’s been something to be proud of. After last year and not getting the win, having possibly a question mark over the season-long race, to win twice and do it effectively and win it again definitely feels good.”
That was not the only success for Rahm as his Legion XIII team clinches the team championship title to go back-to-back, adding a fitting exclamation point to Rahm’s season.
New Investment
After months of uncertainty, LIV Golf finally appears to have found a lifeline in its fight for survival and a potential long-term future.
In August, O’Neil announced that a lead investor had “signed a term sheet approved by our board” that will support the league beyond 2026. The deal is expected to transition LIV toward a multi-partner investment model, with players set to become majority equity holders.
In an emergency press conference on the eve of the opening round of LIV Golf New York at Trump Bedminster, O’Neil claimed the deal would help the circuit enter a “new era.”
“This is a moment that we’re very happy about, that we’re thrilled to announce, that we’re proud to be a part of,” O’Neil said. “It’s certainly an investor of weight, and we’re all locked in on making it happen.”
A statement later released by LIV Golf read: “LIV Golf has an agreement in place with a lead investor, signed by the investor and approved by the Board, to anchor the transaction and play a key role in supporting the path forward for the League’s next era, driven by and for the players. We’re also seeing strong interest from more than a dozen additional parties to potentially serve as minority investors, creating a multi-partner model built for long-term stability and growth.
“Notably, our next chapter will make our players the majority equity holders in LIV Golf, a first for a major global sports league, and gives the League the foundation to keep growing the game worldwide. We anticipate finalizing terms in the coming weeks, with the goal of entering a transaction in September. In the meantime, our focus is on delivering a great week for fans and players at Bedminster and finishing the 2026 season strong.”
What Does the Future Hold?
LIV Golf continues to dominate headlines in the world of golf after a season of extraordinary highs and lows for the breakaway league. Players have left. Investment has disappeared. Events have been canceled. Yet, somehow, LIV has emerged from the chaos with a renewed sense of hope for its future thanks to new investment.
How much of that hope is genuine remains to be seen, and for some, it may still be premature. Doubts remain over the long-term future of the circuit and the commitments of several of LIV Golf’s biggest names, particularly as plans for “LIV 2.0” point toward a significantly different product.
The proposed model is understood to involve a core of 10 events worth $10 million each, a significant reduction from the 14-event schedule and $14 million prize funds of the current model. Players would also become majority equity holders in the business.
Will that model remain attractive to the likes of DeChambeau and Rahm? Will viewership continue to lag behind the PGA TOUR? And, perhaps most importantly, can LIV Golf establish itself as a sustainable business without the seemingly endless financial backing that helped build it? For now, the answer to all three remains unclear.
But after a year in which LIV Golf appeared at several points to be heading toward its final chapter, the league has at least earned the chance to write another one.