Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau arrive at the PGA Championship under pressure as LIV Golf’s uncertain future raises the stakes.
Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau arrive at the PGA Championship carrying more than major championship pressure.
With LIV Golf’s future suddenly looking far less certain, Aronimink Golf Club has become a massive stage for two of the league’s biggest stars to prove they still belong at the center of professional golf.
April could not have gone much worse for LIV. Rahm and DeChambeau entered the Masters with momentum after combining for three straight wins, but neither made a serious run at Augusta National.
DeChambeau missed the cut, while Rahm finished tied for 38th.
Then came the bigger blow: reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would stop funding LIV Golf after the 2026 season. Once that was confirmed, the questions around LIV shifted from growth to survival.
That makes the PGA Championship especially important.
Rahm, who is still under contract with LIV, has tried to stay away from the business noise. He said this week his job is to play golf, not solve LIV’s future.
That’s a reasonable stance, and frankly, it’s also probably the smartest one. Rahm’s best leverage comes from birdies, not boardrooms.
DeChambeau appears to view things differently. LIV CEO Scott O’Neil has described him as more of a business partner, and DeChambeau has already raised concerns about returning to the PGA Tour, including restrictions around content creation.
He’s also set to be a free agent after this season, which makes his next few months fascinating.
Still, both players face the same truth: winning majors changes everything.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has made it clear the tour isn’t obsessing over an immediate path back for LIV players.
There’s also lingering frustration from the way some departures happened, especially with DeChambeau, who sued the PGA Tour after leaving.
Right now, Rahm and DeChambeau don’t have the leverage they once did. The PGA Tour has moved forward without them, and the last six major champions have come from outside LIV. That matters.
But if Rahm or DeChambeau wins the PGA Championship, U.S. Open or Open Championship, the conversation changes fast. Fans want the best players together.
A major trophy would make it harder to argue golf’s biggest events are just fine without them.
Rahm and DeChambeau don’t need to fix LIV this week. They need to remind everyone why their presence still matters. At Aronimink, that means contending — and maybe winning.
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