LIV Archives - US Sports News

Jon Rahm Withdraws From LIV Golf Houston Event

Jon Rahm, who has struggled in the major championships so far this year, withdrew from the LIV Golf Houston event on Saturday afternoon due to a foot injury, with the U.S. Open looming next week.

Rahm, who won the 2023 Masters and is seventh in the Official World Golf Ranking, had an issue during Friday’s first round with a cut, or cuts, between his toes, leading to him seeking attention during the round.

He played on and shot 3-under-par 69 at the Golf Club of Houston, a round that included five birdies and a double bogey.

Rahm played six holes of his second round on Saturday before withdrawing. LIV Golf had yet to provide any further information.

The two-time major winner, who won the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, has yet to win on LIV Golf after becoming the biggest offseason signing for the league. He is the captain of his own team, Legion XIII. In seven events, Rahm has finished inside the top 10 each time, with two third-place finishes.

But he tied for 45th in his Masters defense and then missed the cut last month at the PGA Championship, his first missed cut in a major after making 18 straight.

8 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

PGA Tour Says ‘Progress Was Made’ in Latest Talks With PIF

DUBLIN, Ohio – The PGA Tour said in a statement Saturday morning that its meeting with representatives of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia on Friday was a continuation of “accelerated’’ talks “where more progress was made.’’

A year ago this week, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF entered into a “framework agreement’’ that has yet to be consummated as a way to bring unity to the men’s professional game.

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf League—which is funded by the PIF—are both playing events this weekend, the PGA Tour at the Memorial Tournament and LIV Golf in Houston.

Last month Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott were named to a “transaction committee’’ that is to deal directly with the PIF as part of a plan to get investment in the new PGA Enterprises.

The others on the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan; former Tour player and board liaison Joe Ogilvie; Joe Gorder, who is an executive with Valero and the chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises; and John Henry, a principal with Fenway Sports Group and part of the Strategic Sports Group, which earlier this year invested $1.5 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises.

The group met in New York on Friday with representatives of the PIF, including its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan. McIlroy, who is playing in the Memorial Tournament, participated via video conference.

“I certainly don’t see in the next couple of years LIV slowing down,’’ McIlroy said during an interview Thursday. “They’re buying office space in New York. They have over 200 employees. I don’t see a world where—and I haven’t heard any of those guys say that they don’t want to play over there either, right? You’ve got guys who are on contracts until 2028, 2029.

“Looking a few years down the line, LIV is going to continue to sort of keep going down its path. But hopefully with maybe more of a collaboration or an understanding between the tours. Maybe there is some cross pollenization there where players can start to play on both. I guess that will all be talked about it in the coming weeks.’’

McIlroy said the transaction committee has met a few times amongst themselves and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with representatives of the PIF for the last few weeks.

It’s been a year since the “framework agreement’ was announced, with no deal made and plenty of conjecture back and forth. The SSG commitment stalled talks with the PIF, but seemingly have resumed with plenty of ground to cover. This was the first time the transaction committee met in person with Al-Rumayyan.

“Representatives from the PGA Tour Enterprises Transaction Subcommittee and the PIF have been meeting multiple times weekly to work through potential deal terms and come to a shared vision on the future of professional golf,’’ the Tour said in a statement Saturday. “On Friday evening, an in-person session in New York City included the entire Transaction Subcommittee and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and his team, where more progress was made.

“We remain committed to these negotiations, which require working through complex considerations to best position golf for global growth. We want to get this right, and we are approaching discussions with careful consideration for our players, our fans, our partners and the game’s future.’’

2 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

USGA Will Welcome LIV Players to U.S. Open ‘With Open Arms’ If They Qualify

USGA CEO Mike Whan wants any golfer who's good enough to qualify to compete in the U.S. Open.

Yes, that includes everyone from LIV Golf.

Per U.S. Open tradition, players not exempt into the field must earn their spot through qualifying events. Anyone with a USGA Handicap Index of 0.4 or less can enter a local qualifier, advance to a 36-hole regional event and earn a spot. (Many top pros not already in the U.S. Open field are exempt from local qualifying and only need to advance via a 36-hole event.) Since 2004, the U.S. Open field has averaged 74.2 players who have advanced through one or both stages of qualifying.

One outspoken LIV player made it clear he is unwilling to try to qualify this year. Back to him shortly.

Speaking with Sports Illustrated at Lancaster Country Club, host of the this year's U.S. Women’s Open from May 30–June 2, Whan said he’s proud of the USGA’s uninhibited embrace of LIV Tour players competing in the U.S. Open and continues to welcome them "with open arms."

“One of the advantages we have versus most other championships in golf is, a lot of other championships call themselves open but we are the most open, meaning half of the spots in the U.S. Open are not held and are going to be filled by qualifying players,” Whan said.

“There is a good chunk of LIV players and other major winners who are already in and have played since LIV started playing and we're proud of that. But there are a lot of great players on the DP World Tour, the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour, and the Asian Tours that aren't in either and they have to go play 36 holes and try to qualify.”

LIV players Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, Martin Kaymer, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk are exempt and expected to play in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort on June 13-16.

Former major champions and current LIV players Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel, Henrik Stenson and Graeme McDowell are among 35 players from LIV who will attempt to earn a spot in the field through final qualifying.

“We saw it last year, we had a pretty consequential amount of LIV players go to qualify,” Whan said. “We had players who went to qualify and got in and some went to qualify and didn't. The same will be true this year.”

One LIV player who isn’t attempting to qualify is Talor Gooch. He made waves ahead of the Masters by saying if Rory McIlroy were to have won the tournament to complete his career grand slam, “there’s just going to be an asterisk.” Gooch's reasoning was he and other LIV players weren’t in the field.

Gooch could have competed for a spot in the U.S. Open through qualifying. The USGA confirmed he did not enter and Gooch confirmed Thursday he will not attempt to qualify.

“When people talk about other majors, some of those majors are kind of full and the only way to get in is an invite,” Whan said. “In our case, half of our field is not only not full, it's wide open. If you're good enough to get in, we welcome you with open arms.”