Jon Rahm, the professional golfer with the largest creditor claim in bankrupt LIV Golf, said he is leaving the organization, a move that could deal a blow to the tournament organizer's future.
During a Wednesday hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey, an attorney for Rahm said that the two-time major champion won't be participating in the league going forward and is working to complete a separation agreement.
Rahm, 31, is one of LIV's most high-profile recruits. He joined the league in 2023 with a reported multiyear contract valued at around $300 million. At the time of LIV's bankruptcy filing in September, he was owed $7.5 million in accrued compensation. Rahm's departure poses a direct threat to LIV's reorganization. LIV sought bankruptcy protection after its main financial backer, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, halted funding amid a strategy pivot.
LIV's proposed recovery plan depends on shifting to a player-owned model, offering players a 52.5% equity stake. That plan largely relies on players signing onto the proposal and sticking with the organization.
Asset-management firm BC Partners announced last week that it has committed up to $300 million in investment in the organization. BC Partners has made its total investment contingent on a certain number of players staying on board.
"We're all systems go," said Ted Goldthorpe, the head of credit for BC Partners, in a Monday news release. "The next 22 days is going to be about signing up the players, but again, I feel very, very good about that."
Rahm was initially reluctant to join LIV. The Spanish national at one point said that not even $400 million would entice him to come aboard the upstart league. Rahm accepted the deal in late 2023 after the PGA Tour and PIF announced a framework to join forces. That framework never materialized.