Golf

LIV Golf has provided one of the most tumultuous episodes in the history of golf since its launch in 2021, one which threatened to tear the sport apart.

High-profile players joined and were banned from other tours, as well as events such as the Ryder Cup.

More than $5bn (£3.7bn) was spent by PIF, with major winners including Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau lured by lucrative contracts and vast prize money.

But the future of the concept – and its star players – has been shrouded in uncertainty this year after the 2026 season ended early. An event in August in Indianapolis proved to be the last.

When PIF announced it was withdrawing its funding in April, LIV announced a “strategic evolution” – including a newly established independent board – and attempted to find replacement financial investors.

The exodus of players continued, however, including the exits of Rahm, Ian Poulter, Tyrrell Hatton and Graeme McDowell. When Rahm left it was reported he was owed about $100m (£75m) from the remainder of the contract.

The European tour, which is sponsored by DP World, had also increased pressure on players when it announced last month that those who signed up to LIV Golf next season would not be allowed to be members of the European tour in 2027.

That would have also spelled an end to any players with ambitions of featuring in the Ryder Cup as only DP World Tour members can play for Europe in the biennial team competition.

Speaking this week, Lee Westwood, one of the most high-profile players to join LIV when it first began in 2022, said the proposed revamp still had potential to thrive but added “there hasn’t been anything presented to me that is agreeable for LIV 2.0”.

DeChambeau, who had not revealed his future plans, said he hopes the league “exists forever”, while former Taylor Made and Adidas executive Mark King was appointed as a senior adviser last week.

A loose deadline for LIV to confirm its players for 2027 had been set for last Sunday – a point which, having now passed, appears to be drawing the saga to an end.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge agreed Monday to extend an order blocking the Trump administration’s renovation plans for a century-old public golf course in the nation’s capital.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the East Potomac Golf Course. The administration must give 10 days’ notice in writing before making any “irreparable modification” to any “forms or features” of the course while the lawsuit is active.

“The Court earlier stated, ‘I am not the Lorax. I do not speak for the trees.’ The Court still does not speak for the trees. It speaks only for the rule of law,” Reyes wrote.

Reyes expressed astonishment that the government has asked her to “not to believe the sitting President” and disregard Trump’s statements about his plans for the golf course renovations.

“This started as a case about golf. That good walk spoiled. But it has become much more,” Reyes wrote. “It now forces the Court to reconcile assertions by President Donald J. Trump with the sworn testimony of multiple government employees and the argument of senior Department of Justice attorneys.”

On Oct. 18, Trump announced plans on social media to close the golf course for 15 months, starting Nov. 15, and redevelop the 106-year-old park and course despite a court challenge by the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers. A day later, Trump posted that the work would start immediately.

Reyes, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Biden, previously ordered the administration to suspend work on the project until at least Oct. 26.

Trump was asked about the case late Monday night as he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland following a rally in Mississippi and indicated that work on the golf course will proceed as planned.

“It has the go-ahead. The judge feels that she would like to approve it as it goes along. And I didn’t know she was an architectural critic of golf courses,” Trump said sarcastically.

He added of the judge: “She knows nothing about that, so we’ll appeal that” while also calling his planned overhaul a “beautiful project for Washington, D.C.”

Trump later in a social media post reiterated a statement he made Oct. 18 that the course would close for 15 months. “We are closing the East Potomac Golf Course Site as scheduled on November 15th in order to renovate and rebuild for Competitive (with other such projects!), Safety, Modernization, and Aesthetic reasons,” he wrote.

The plaintiffs challenging the project, DC Preservation League and two golfers, claim the work is inflicting irreversible damage. At a hearing, the judge excoriated the government after workers cut down at least 400 trees over a holiday weekend with little notice to the plaintiffs.

The course renovation project is part of the Republican president’s aggressive campaign to leave his personal imprint on Washington’s historic landscape. Those plans include construction of a huge ballroom at the White House, a massive arch and the creation of a National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park. DC Preservation League is part of a coalition of organizations, including the Cultural Landscape Foundation and one D.C. resident, who have filed lawsuit challenging those plans.

Reyes rejected the administration’s request for her to recuse herself from the case. The government questioned her impartiality and accused her of engaging in “egregious” behavior from the bench during an emergency hearing in the case.

In Monday’s ruling Reyes stressed that she had hoped the parties could have resolved their dispute without judicial intervention. She noted that she had denied plaintiffs’ previous requests.

“The Court would much prefer not to have to resolve Lorax v. Once‑ler redux. Indeed, for months, the Court declined to intervene,” she wrote.

But she said the government forced her hand by bulldozing hundreds of trees without any notice, doing “what it assured all it would not do.”

Reyes quoted from a golf-related opinion written by the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative icon, in stressing the temporary nature of her own decision.

“Here, golf and government have again clashed,” Reyes wrote. “By issuing this preliminary injunction, the Court does not end the round: it simply marks the ball until the parties can fully and fairly litigate this case.

Democracy Forward President & CEO Skye Perryman, whose organization is co-counsel representing the plaintiffs, called the ruling “a big win that will rightly protect East Potomac Park from further irreparable harm.” She added, in an email, that the move will stop activities “while the case continues, and we are eager to argue the case in court.”

Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press. AP reporters Gary Fields and Will Weissert contributed to this report.

Marshall Faulk is an extraordinarily active 53-year-old. The first-ballot NFL Hall of Fame running back is the head football coach at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. He runs a foundation in his name that assists underprivileged youth. He works out. He plays a lot of golf.

And he has Parkinson’s disease.

Faulk revealed his diagnosis on The Caring Neurologist podcast this week, saying he noticed Parkinson’s symptoms on the golf course.

“The rigidity in my hand, just sometimes after I play a lot or I practice a lot,” he said. “I just thought it was normal nerves when putting and stuff like that. But it started to be times where I was playing, but I wasn’t in a match, and it would still do that. I was like, ‘Wow, is that normal?’”

Faulk said he was diagnosed about 18 months ago. An unfailing optimist in his social media dispatches and a fiery truth-teller when addressing his team, the former Rams Super Bowl champion described himself on the podcast as “one of the lucky ones” because he caught the disease early.

“The doctor was like, ‘You need to go get checked,’” he said. “You need to go have X, Y and Z done. You’re at an age, it’s possible; it’s likely that it’s not, but you need to go get checked.’”

He jumped on the phone to speak with other former NFL players who share the diagnosis.

“They told me about some of the symptoms and things they had that they thought [were] just football-related, that it didn’t relate to Parkinson’s in any manner,” Faulk said. “They wish, in those early stages, if they had maybe just known a little earlier, they would be in better shape.”

Former Green Bay Packers greats Brett Favre and Ahman Green currently live with Parkinson’s. So does former quarterback Bernie Kosar.

St. Louis Rams’ Marshall Faulk, left, straight-arms Lofa Tatupu of the Seattle Seahawks during a 2005 NFL game.

(Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)

Perhaps the most noteworthy sports figure to battle Parkinson’s was boxing great Muhammad Ali, who died in 2016. Faulk met Ali at a dinner and said on the podcast that he is comforted by the memory.

“He leaned over to me and he whispered, ‘You a bad boy,’” Faulk said. “And then he made a couple other comments. I was like, ‘He’s all there.’ So knowing that, I didn’t look at it like life is going to end.”

Faulk was seemingly indestructible as a player. An All-American at San Diego State, he was drafted second overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 1994 and immediately made an impact, rushing for more than 1,000 yards for the first of seven times and being named NFL rookie of the year.

Faulk was traded to the then St. Louis Rams ahead of the 1999 season and led their “Greatest Show on Turf” offense to a Super Bowl XXXIV victory in January 2000. The following season, Faulk was named NFL MVP. He transitioned to the NFL Network broadcast booth after retiring in 2005 having rushed for 12,279 yards and 100 touchdowns while also catching 767 passes for another 36 touchdowns.

He got into coaching in 2025, joining Deion Sanders’ staff at Colorado. When the opportunity arose to become the head coach at Southern, Faulk didn’t hesitate even though he already had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

“I could have stayed at Colorado. I was comfortable. But I’ve never done well in life when comfortable,” he said at his introductory news conference at Southern. “And I’m not gonna lie to you. This is uncomfortable, and I like it.”

The Jaguars, an HBCU school competing in the FCS, are 3-4 in Faulk’s first season after going 2-10 in 2025. Faulk’s messages to his players go beyond football. On Thursday he posted this on Instagram: “Protecting your game goes far beyond avoiding injury.⁠ Protect your body.⁠ Protect your mind.⁠ Protect your circle.⁠ Protect your future.

“The decisions you make away from the field can have just as much impact on your future as what happens between the lines,” he continued. “Choose the people, habits, and environments that move you closer to where you want to go.⁠ Send this to a young athlete who needs this reminder today.⁠”

Helping others is why he decided to open up about his Parkinson’s diagnosis, he told host Dr. Sandeep Thakkar on the podcast.

“I want to help as many people as I can,” he said. “What you want to do with that information is pass it on to the next generation to make sure that they have it better, that they know more. And you’re doing it to leave this world a better place than it was when I got here.”

Former Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen has become the latest high-profile player to quit LIV Golf, describing it as the “hardest decision he has had to make in his career”.

The league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in September after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew its multibillion-dollar backing.

Oosthuizen, 44, joined LIV Golf in 2022 and was captain of the Southern Guards GC team.

The South African now plans to return to the DP World Tour in 2027.

“Five years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life, moving away from the traditional golf world and into something very special with LIV Golf and Southern Guards GC,” Oosthuizen posted on social media.

“I’m the biggest supporter of team golf and always will be. Golf needs more of it.

“This is probably the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my career, but I have to do what I believe is right for my golf.”

The 2010 Open champion, who has finished as a runner-up at least once in each of the other three majors, said a more flexible playing schedule will help him to compete at a high level.

“I realised I have a lot more in me, and my biggest fear was that the schedule on LIV 2.0 would be tough to manage,” said former world number four Oosthuizen.

“I feel I have a few more years of good, competitive golf left in me, and the only way to be really sharp and competitive is through a schedule I control.”

Oosthuizen joins Thomas Pieters, Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, David Puig and Adrian Meronk in announcing his departure.

Last week, two-time major winner Jon Rahm gave up a reported £75m owed to him by LIV Golf after reaching a separation agreement.

Some former LIV Golf players, including Brooks Koepka, have since rejoined the PGA Tour, which rewrote its rules in December to allow the five-time major winner to return, subject to certain sanctions.

Guy Kinnings, CEO of the DP World Tour, told BBC Sport earlier this month that players who continue with LIV will not be allowed to be members of the European tour next season.

LIV has secured a possible $300m (£224.2m) in financing from BC Partners Credit in order to try to move forward with the 2027 season.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday questioned the Trump administration’s claims surrounding its efforts to redevelop a historic Washington golf course, challenging its contention that a recent tree-cutting spree did not indicate work was moving forward on the project, which is temporarily blocked by a court order.

“There is no universe in which all of this coincidentally happened all at the same time,” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said during a hearing over the fate of a project that has emerged as the latest legal flashpoint in President Trump’s campaign to leave his personal imprint on the nation’s capital.

Reyes last week ordered a halt to the golf course’s redevelopment plans until at least Oct. 26 after scolding the government for starting a large-scale tree removal at the course over a holiday weekend while providing little notice to the court or the plaintiffs trying to stop the makeover.

Then, on Sunday, Trump announced plans on social media to close the golf course for 15 months, starting on Nov. 15, and redevelop the 106-year-old park and course despite a court challenge by the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers. In a post on Monday, Trump said the work would start immediately.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys challenging the golf course renovation work have asked Reyes to extend her order that temporarily paused the work. They say the work is inflicting irreversible damage and that the redevelopment would violate the congressional act that created the park where the course is located.

The hearings on the century-old golf course have grown increasingly tense and on the eve of Monday’s hearing, Reyes rejected the administration’s request for her to recuse herself from the case. The government questioned her impartiality and accused her of engaging in “egregious” behavior from the bench during last week’s emergency hearing for the case.

Trump, a Republican, referred to Reyes as a “crazed lunatic” in his social media post on Monday.

“The United States Department of Interior wants to take a terrible and very unsafe golf course, and make it into a great, safe, and prestigious golf course. They have an absolute right to do so. It’s as simple as that!” Trump wrote.

Reyes, who was nominated by Democratic President Biden, said the government has failed “by any objective measure” to demonstrate the need for her recusal from the case.

“It is easy to weaponize selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion. But it is much harder to meet the demanding legal standard against a full record,” she wrote.

Trump has pledged to turn the course into a world-class golf venue — part of his grand vision for Washington, D.C., where he has torn down storied structures, remade or renamed others and deployed the National Guard for more than a year.

While it has been open to Washingtonians of all income levels, opponents of Trump’s plans for the golf course have argued it will alter the character of the space and make it less affordable to people.

Monday’s hearing started with a tense confrontation between Reyes and Justice Department official Stanley Woodward, when the judge asked if other any government attorneys in the room “as officers of the court” were willing to certify that everything within a Sunday filing was truthful and legally sound under federal rules of civil procedures.

In that filing Woodward argued that there were no final plans for the park.

“First, the plan is not final because the Park Service has not completed its review and the details of the proposal are subject to change during the review process,” the filing said.

Much of the hearing revolved around Trump’s social media posts over the weekend and his appearance last June at the golf course, accompanied by golf course architects and members of the administration and why there was such a sense of urgency for the cutting of the trees.

The witnesses at the hearing, Greg Wischer, deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department, and acting National Park Service director Jessica Bowron both acknowledged that they had only learned of the National Park Service Cultural Landscape Report in September that led to the tree cutting. That NPS report was from 2019.

Fields writes for the Associated Press.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump on Sunday announced plans to close a historic public golf course in the nation’s capital for 15 months and redevelop it despite an ongoing court challenge to his long-sought renovation.

Trump posted on social media about his intent to shut the East Potomac Golf Course, not far from the White House, starting Nov. 15 to make it “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World.”

A judge last week, however, ordered a halt to his redevelopment plans until at least Oct. 26 after scolding the government for starting a large-scale tree removal at the course over a holiday weekend while providing little notice to the court or the plaintiffs trying to stop the makeover.

Trump did not acknowledge the legal fight in his post, which included an artist’s rendering for the course redesign.

“When completed, it will be open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf and able to hold World Class Tournaments such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, and the Presidents Cup,” Trump wrote.

Democracy Forward, which is representing the plaintiffs challenging his renovation plans, responded by saying that the course is part of a national park and recreation facility that is meant for everyone to enjoy.

“Our litigation is intended to protect this community jewel for the people and communities it serves and we will continue to work with our plaintiffs to defend it from unlawful and harmful intrusion,” Skye Perryman, the president and chief executive of the group, said in a statement.

The judge in the case took notice of Trump’s online message and ordered the government to notify her by 8 p.m. Eastern time Sunday whether its position had changed from a court filing Friday that said “at most” Trump has given “preliminary thought” to the rebuilding plan and “there is no final agency action.”

Extensive makeover

Trump, a golf aficionado who plays often, already had announced plans to makeover the links as part of his broader project to renovate and refurbish places around Washington, including the White House and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Many of his projects, including plans for a huge ballroom at the White House, the installation of his own name on the Kennedy Center and construction of a massive arch, have been challenged in courts.

The 106-year-old park and course has been the subject of many emergency hearings as the president has sought to renovate it. Although it has been open to Washingtonians of all income levels, opponents of Trump’s plans to turn it into a high-end course have argued that it will alter the character of the space and make it less affordable.

Trump in his post echoed arguments he has made to justify his plans to remake the Kennedy Center, arguing it is in such dangerous condition that it needs to close.

“The current Course is old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect. It is in very poor condition, with falling, dangerous, and disease infested trees and, importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall,” Trump wrote.

Debris from the demolition of the White House East Wing to make way for his ballroom project also has been dumped on the grounds. The National Park Service has said the debris tested positive for lead, chromium and other toxic metals.

Trump also sought to justify the National Park Service’s removal of hundreds of trees that the judge paused, writing in his announcement that when the golf course was originally built, “it was famous for no trees, with views of Washington, D.C., for all to see, but now, it is completely overgrown, dysfunctional, and unsafe.”

Case returns to court

Trump’s post outlining a clear plan for construction complicates a federal court hearing scheduled for Monday in a lawsuit filed by the DC Preservation League and two golfers opposing the construction.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes has ordered key members of the administration to testify on the recent tree cutting and whether those actions are tied to the president’s plans for the historical public links.

The administration on Friday asked for Reyes to be replaced on the case, questioning her impartiality and citing what it called “egregious” behavior from the bench in response to an emergency hearing Oct. 12. Her frustration boiled over in a three-hour hearing when she lambasted the government’s attorney for the lack of notification she and the plaintiffs received before the trees were chopped down.

At the upcoming hearing, the judge is expected to address the request that she step aside. Meanwhile, over the weekend the plaintiffs asked that she grant them a more long-standing preliminary injunction in the case and/or a stay.

Price writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report.

Asian Cup preparations continue for January, but Asian Tour delays golf’s Saudi Invitational after Houthi attacks.

The Asian Cup football tournament is on track to take place in Saudi Arabia early next year, local organisers say, but golf’s Asian Tour has postponed the Saudi International indefinitely in the aftermath of a series of attacks on Riyadh.

Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack, which took place on Saturday on Riyadh’s international airport. It killed 14 people and ⁠wounded more than 300.

Australia also withdrew its team from the urban cycling World Championships on Friday, citing safety concerns over travelling to Riyadh, where the event is scheduled to take place in early November.

The Six Kings Slam exhibition tennis tournament in Riyadh has already been moved from October to December while FIFA on Thursday postponed the FIFAe Finals 2026 video game competition in ‌Jeddah until an unspecified future date.

In that environment, serious questions were being asked about whether the 24-team Asian Cup could still go ahead in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to February 5.

Three Saudi Pro League matches, including one featuring Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, were postponed this week while Al-Nassr’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League game on Monday was delayed by an hour after Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence said it had intercepted a missile fired towards Riyadh.

AFC chief Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa said earlier this week that a postponement of the continental championships until 2028 was possible if necessary, but the local organising committee (LOC) said on Friday that it was sticking to the original schedule.

“Preparations across all organisational and operational areas are progressing according to the approved schedule, including work on venues, facilities ⁠and supporting services,” it said in a statement.

The LOC “will continue to monitor developments ⁠relevant to the tournament and ensure the appropriate conditions are in place for its successful delivery”.

Attacks in Saudi Arabia disrupt sport calendar

The $5m Saudi International, which is sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), is the flagship event on the Asian Tour and had been scheduled to take place at Riyadh ⁠Golf Club on November 18-21.

“The decision to postpone was taken following an assessment of the organisational and logistical challenges associated with hosting the tournament and ensuring the event is ⁠delivered to a standard befitting its international stature,” an Asian Tour statement ⁠said.

AusCycling said its decision to withdraw the Australian team from the urban World Championships was made “with the safety and wellbeing of our athletes and staff our highest priority”.

The Australian government is advising travellers to “reconsider” trips to Saudi Arabia in general and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport in particular “due to recent ‌security incidents”.

The Saudi government has invested heavily in sport through the PIF in recent years, and the Asian Cup was pitched as an early rehearsal for hosting football’s FIFA World Cup in 2034.

WASHINGTON — U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on Monday ordered a 24-hour halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac Golf Course, a historic D.C. golf course that has been part of President Donald Trump’s plans to remake the city.

Reyes issued the order following a tense three-hour hearing in which she blistered the government for having deceived her with its actions over the holiday weekend.

Reyes said the 24-hour temporary order could be extended to 14 days if necessary. It was limited to one day while the government tries to find a key Trump administration official to discuss why a massive tree-cutting at the park needed to occur over the holiday weekend, with little notification to plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to halt renovation plans or the judge.

It’s the latest example of the erosion of trust between the government and the independent judiciary, as the Trump administration tries to steamroll scrutiny of its actions, from the White House ballroom to immigration enforcement.

The hearing started with a blistering 15-minute statement from Reyes, who has declined repeated motions from the plaintiffs to halt work by the administration out of concern that its strategy has seemed to be move ahead on projects despite court actions.

“I am thoroughly unamused right now,” Reyes said. “I do not know how I could have made it any plainer that I did not want what was to happen, to happen.” The judge added: “I have given the government every single benefit of the doubt that it would not do precisely what it has done.”

She told the government’s lawyers sharply: “I wanted you all to be better than you have been.”

The emergency hearing on a holiday expanded as the judge ordered the government to get various participants in the decision-making process into the hearing remotely.

Reyes plans to hold another hearing Tuesday and wants to hear from Greg Wischer, deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department. Wischer pushed for the work to be done urgently, according to testimony from Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the National Park Service.

Fields writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

While the DP World Tour agreed to grant conditional releases with nine players this season, it is understood the change for 2027 is predominantly down to LIV offering players equity in future and a feeling this is incompatible with the European tour being a members organisation.

However, it also comes at a time when the DP World Tour’s strategic alliance with the PGA Tour is being negotiated, so the move likely reflects a desire to put itself in the best position possible in those discussions.

Players will have until 16 November to sign up to the DP World Tour for next year.

Under the terms of its court-supervised restructuring process, LIV Golf needs to sign players up by 25 October.

Ted Goldthorpe, head of BC Partners Credit, told BBC Sport last week he was “confident” LIV would have a “critical mass” of players.

But since then two-time major winner Rahm has said he will not continue playing on the LIV tour.

Lawyers representing a number of other players, including fellow major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, sought clarification from the court that rejection of contracts would equate to “termination”, enabling players to hold discussions with third parties about their futures.

Richard Bland is currently the only player to have stated publicly a desire to play on LIV 2.0.

However, Perez indicated last month he hoped there would be a future for the league.

‘Rahm has reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0 and has determined that they are unacceptable,’ his lawyer said.

Former world number one Jon Rahm has said he is quitting LIV Golf, robbing ⁠the breakaway circuit of ⁠one of its biggest stars while it fights to emerge from bankruptcy.

Rahm’s lawyer John Beck told a bankruptcy hearing on Wednesday that the two-time ⁠major champion made his decision after looking over details of LIV Golf’s planned next phase.

“Mr Rahm has independently reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0, as the parties have been referring to ⁠it, and has determined that those terms are unacceptable as to him, and he will not be participating going forward in LIV 2.0,” Beck told the court.

Other golfers asked a US bankruptcy judge to help terminate their contracts and clarify their ability to negotiate with other tournament organisers and sponsors ‌as their LIV contracts go unpaid.

LIV has already agreed to terminate Sergio Garcia’s contract after determining that the league would not honour its terms, and lawyers for Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, An Byeong-hun, Marc Leishman, Cameron Tringale and Matthew Wolff asked the judge to allow those players out of their old contracts.

Ending those contracts would not preclude those players from agreeing to participate in LIV 2.0.

Rahm, one of the most high-profile players to join LIV Golf, has won three consecutive season-long individual titles on LIV since joining the circuit ⁠in late 2023, eight months after winning the Masters for his second major title.

When LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 protection in New ⁠Jersey last month, its filing listed several star golfers as ⁠creditors still owed millions in unsecured claims. Among them, Rahm had the largest claim among players at $7.5m.

Earlier this week, LIV secured funding from BC Partners to help it emerge from restructuring and strengthen its financial footing before the 2027 ‌season. The financing, up to $300m, remains subject to bankruptcy court approval and customary conditions.

BC Partners Credit, which provides financing to middle-market companies, said the funding would support what it described ‌as ‌the next phase of LIV Golf, under which players would become equity owners of the league and its teams.

Jon Rahm will leave LIV Golf after deeming the proposed terms for LIV 2.0 “unacceptable”, his lawyer has told a bankruptcy court hearing.

The league, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in September after Saudi Arabia withdrew its multibillion-dollar funding, has secured a possible $300m in financing from BC Partners Credit in order to try to move forward with the 2027 season.

Rahm’s lawyer, John Beck, told the hearing the 31-year-old Spaniard “independently reviewed the terms of LIV 2.0 and determined those terms are unacceptable as to him”.

It was later said that LIV and Rahm’s representatives are “in advanced discussions for a consensual separation agreement between Mr Rahm and LIV”.

It is hoped this will be finalised by a court hearing on 5 November.

LIV’s participants are owed at least $45m (£33m) and have the option to leave.

However, the agreement secures an extension for the league to discuss terms with its players, with talks now open until 25 October.

Documents outlining the money owed to LIV Golf’s creditors, with the 30 largest unsecured claims, show that two-time major winner Rahm tops the list with an unsecured claim of $7.5m (£5.5m).

BBC Sport understands there is no obligation on players to sign on to LIV 2.0, regardless of whether they had previously signed multi-year contracts with LIV Golf.

Spain’s Rahm was arguably the most high-profile name to join LIV when he left the PGA Tour in December 2023 for a deal worth a reported £222m ($300m).

Some players, including Brooks Koepka, have since returned to the PGA Tour, which rewrote its rules in December to allow the five-time major winner to come back, subject to certain sanctions.

Rahm did not follow suit and remained under long-term contract with LIV, but in May reached a deal with the DP World Tour – formerly the European Tour – to retain his membership and remain eligible for next year’s Ryder Cup.

In August, the former world number one won his third straight LIV season title.

He has previously said he had no regrets over joining LIV and backed organisers to make it sustainable.

Chapter 11 protection postpones a US company’s obligations to its creditors, giving it time to reorganise its debts or sell parts of the business.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is providing a bankruptcy loan of $49.6m (£36.6m) – called ‘debtor in possession’ (DIP) financing – to help fund the process.