Jim Furyk was asked at the year to go Ryder Cup press conference on Tuesday would he let let bygones be bygones and pick Patrick Reed for next year’s contest despite Reed’s scathing criticism of Furyk’s captaincy in 2018.
There’s a beauty in that question as if Reed doesn’t qualify automatically he has the option of selecting him or not. Reed is back in the Ryder Cup equation after leaving LIV Golf earlier this year, a tour which has absolutely no option but to do everything in its power to retain Bryson DeChambeau for it’s 2.0 launch otherwise it might as well go down with the Titanic.
LIV’s future has been uncertain ever since it was announced that their PIF backing was to be culled. That culminated in a truncated season with cancelled events and a bankruptcy filing. Rather than face their fate, LIV CEO Scott O’Neil has been defiantly behind the launch of LIV 2.0. and DeChambeau’s loyalty to the circuit.
Not that anybody watched it anyway, but surely there can’t be a sustainable product for fans if their best players are departing? Cam Smith and Joaquin Niemann have been non-committal, while Sergio Garcia has outlined his hopes of making a PGA Tour return and Spanish youngster David Puig has also quit LIV Golf.
But the biggest iceberg which may finish off this already sinking ship is the confirmation that Jon Rahm will not be part of LIV 2.0 next season.
The details of Rahm’s reported $350 million contract were never made official publicly but what we do know is that the spaniard is owed a lot of money, reportedly in the region of $100 million over the course of his contract which had several years remaining.
Rahm will most likely play on the DP World Tour next season. Brooks Koepka rejoined the DP World Tour at the beginning of this year via a specific pathway which was also offered to Rahm but he turned it down. This was billed as a one time only offer so the ball will be in the PGA Tour’s court if they want to jump into negotiations with the two-time major champion.
But there is a sense that relations may be strained between Rahm and the PGA Tour, he was the big chip that LIV seized in 2023. He was world number three, and had recently won the Masters. Rahm does have major championship exemptions which could allow him to return in 2028. However, if he played a full season on the DP World Tour in 2027 and finished in the top-10 on the Race to Dubai, he could earn his PGA Tour card via that pathway.
One way or another, Rahm is gone and LIV is being held entirely to ransom by the conscience of DeChambeau.
DeChambeau has been seen as the main man on LIV, the one who brings eyeballs to the game of golf. In a world that is more dependent on content, Bryson is the king, his worth only increasing upon the departure of Rahm.
LIV’s ability to attract superstars went south a couple of years ago when they tried to poach potential in the likes of Tom McKibbin, David Puig, Jose Luis Ballester and others. Top players they may all become and they are superstars for the future. But with Tyrrell Hatton, Smith, Niemann and Garcia expected to follow Rahm, DeChambeau is the only superstar LIV has left. Hardly much of a marketing tool for a tour that blew $5bn.
Now without the backing of PIF, the breakaway tour has one if not two arms tied behind its back. It is reported that DeCHambeau, amidst all the uncertainty, was in talks over a new contract in the back ground worth up to $500m. That was with the PIF backing. It can be argued that his value to the tour now is more than that, but without PIF who will be there to meet his demands?
It appears that the American is considering shopping around with his team approaching the DP World Tour regarding DP World Tour appearances – although he is reportedly not pursuing full membership with a handful of events outside of the majors believed to be his desire.
DeChambeau really is LIV’s only hope of bringing eyeballs to the tour – whatever it looks like next year. With 10 million followers on social media he is in a way golf’s most valuable entity. LIV has until 25 October to get enough players to pledge their future to 2.0 to complete the proposed finance deal with investors BC Partners. The clock is ticking loudly.
Back in 2022, he needed a break from the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour needed a break from him. Now, the PGA Tour could blow everything out of the water by offering him a pathway back to the US circuit.
There may be a tug of war for DeChambeau’s tee times, but it’s one that LIV simply can’t afford to lose if it isn’t too late already. It is Bryson or bust.
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