Eleven players with major championships started the 2026 LIV season. Two had already walked before it began. One more is reported out alongside Rahm this week. That leaves a roster of champions whose average trophy is older than most golf carts.
Jon Rahm is not LIV Golf's only major champion set to leave. Spanish outlet Ten Golf reports two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson has also declined to commit to LIV 2.0, while five-time major champion Brooks Koepka left in December 2025 and 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed departed earlier in 2026. Rahm has not confirmed anything.
The interesting number isn't who's leaving. It's when the remaining major champions won their majors, and that's the fourth section.
Built on: Golfmagic's report of Ten Golf's account, Heavy's coverage via Yahoo Sports, LIV Golf's own PGA Championship field notes, Bunkered's 2026 roster listing, Golf Monthly's roster confirmation, and CBS Sports' reporting on Rahm's 2023 signing and the Returning Member Program.
Who's actually reported to be leaving
Rahm, Watson and David Puig. That's the Ten Golf list.
Golfmagic reports that, per the Spanish outlet, Rahm and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson both indicated they wanted out of LIV 2.0 by the September 1 deadline CEO Scott O'Neil set for player commitments. Heavy's version adds Puig, who has no major, to the departing group, and lists DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson as likely to stay.
Every outlet carrying this notes LIV hasn't confirmed any of it. Rahm's only public comment at the Indianapolis finale, per Heavy, was a joke about getting a haircut the next morning.
So the headline claim fails on its own terms. Watson has two green jackets, from 2012 and 2014, and he's reported out in the same sentence as Rahm.
Who already left this cycle
Two more major winners, both gone before the question was asked.
CBS Sports reported Koepka parting ways with LIV on December 23, 2025 and returning to the PGA Tour through the Returning Member Program, with his first start at the Farmers Insurance Open. Five majors walked out the door in that transaction.
Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, left LIV earlier in 2026 and now tops the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai after winning the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Qatar Masters, per Golfshake.
Henrik Stenson, the 2016 Open champion, was relegated after 2025 and doesn't appear on Bunkered's 2026 roster.
Count it up. Since the end of the 2025 season, LIV has lost three major champions with eight majors between them, before anyone signs a LIV 2.0 contract.
The roster that started 2026
Eleven major champions across 13 teams, per Bunkered's roster listing and LIV's own field notes.
Rahm, DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Sergio García, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell. LIV's preview of the 2026 PGA Championship identified Rahm, DeChambeau, Johnson and Kaymer as the four players on its roster with multiple majors.
That's a genuinely deep list on paper. What it isn't is current.
When those majors were actually won
Here's the number that matters more than the departures.
If Rahm and Watson go, the major champions reported to remain won their titles in these years. DeChambeau: 2020 and 2024. Johnson: 2016 and 2020. Mickelson: 2004 through 2021. Smith: 2022. García: 2017. Schwartzel: 2011. Oosthuizen: 2010. Kaymer: 2010 and 2014. McDowell: 2010.
Majors won since 2020 on that list: DeChambeau's two, Johnson's Masters, Mickelson's PGA, Smith's Open. Five, and two belong to one man.
Rahm alone accounts for a 2021 U.S. Open and a 2023 Masters. He arrived as the reigning Masters champion in December 2023, per CBS Sports, having won four times in the first four months of that year. That win gave him a five-year major exemption and a lifetime Masters invitation, which is why his leaving costs LIV a player who'll be in every major field regardless.
My read after five decades: a league can survive losing one great player. What it can't survive is becoming a museum. Take Rahm and Koepka out and LIV 2.0's major winners are mostly men whose best decade is behind them, with DeChambeau carrying the weight alone.
What LIV 2.0 would look like without them
Ten teams, 90-player fields, and purses that three sources describe three ways.
Golfmagic's account of the Ten Golf reporting has LIV cutting from 13 teams to 10, expanding fields to 90 through a 50-player open format, and dropping event purses from $25 million to between $7 million and $9 million. Front Office Sports earlier put purses near $10 million. Golf.com's understanding was roughly 40% of current levels.
O'Neil, per Golfmagic, said player buy-in was crucial to closing the investment transaction.
There's also the Ryder Cup problem. Reporting relayed by Yahoo Sports notes that García, Lee Westwood, Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton don't want to risk their eligibility, and that the DP World Tour hasn't issued a final ruling on 2027 sanctions for conflicting events. European major champions have a specific reason to walk that Americans don't.
What Rahm is actually owed, and what's been reported about his exit
Around $150 million, per one estimate. More than $100 million, per another. A contract that was $300 million, $350 million or $600 million depending on the outlet.
Heavy cites Daily Golf Club for the $150 million figure. Yahoo Sports' reporting from three weeks ago said sources close to LIV described the league as almost resigned to Rahm leaving in 2027 or before, citing The Telegraph.
One unconfirmed X account report, relayed by TennisWorld, claimed Rahm had agreed terms to return to the PGA Tour in 2027 including a $25 million charity payment and no immediate signature-event access. Neither Rahm nor the Tour has confirmed it, and I'd treat it as rumour until someone with a name says otherwise.
What the Tour has said, per Golf.com's earlier reporting, is that CEO Brian Rolapp has no current plans to reopen the Returning Member Program and that any returning player must be free of contractual obligations.
Five claims about Rahm and LIV that don't hold up
- "Rahm is the only major champion leaving." Ten Golf, per Golfmagic and Heavy, lists Bubba Watson too. Koepka and Reed already left this cycle.
- "LIV keeps most of its major winners." Numerically, maybe. By recency, no. Of the majors held by players reported to stay, only five were won in this decade.
- "Rahm has confirmed his exit." He hasn't said a word beyond a haircut joke, per Heavy. Everything is sourced to a Spanish podcast and unnamed sources.
- "He'll walk straight back onto the PGA Tour." The Returning Member Program closed in February and Rolapp says there are no plans to reopen it. A reported $25 million charity payment deal is unconfirmed.
- "The purses in LIV 2.0 are settled." Three outlets, three figures, from $7 million to roughly $10 million per event. None is official.
Verification block
Confirmed: Ten Golf's reporting, as relayed by Golfmagic and Heavy, names Rahm and Watson; Koepka and Reed's departures are separately reported by CBS Sports and Golfshake. LIV has not confirmed a 2027 roster.
Unconfirmed: contract values, the $25 million charity payment, and any specific PGA Tour return agreement.
The Raw Verdict
The question in the headline has a two-word answer, and it's "no, obviously". Watson is reported out with him, Koepka and Reed are already gone, and the champions left behind mostly won their trophies before Rahm turned pro.
What you should actually take from this is that "major champion" is a label that never expires, and a league can stack them up while losing every player who might win one next year. Count the recent ones. That's the number that tells you whether LIV 2.0 is a tour or a reunion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which major champions are reported to be leaving LIV Golf?
Jon Rahm and two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson, according to Ten Golf's reporting relayed by Golfmagic and Heavy. David Puig is also reported out. Brooks Koepka left in December 2025 and Patrick Reed departed earlier in 2026. LIV has confirmed none of the 2027 roster.
How many major champions does LIV Golf have?
Eleven started the 2026 season: Rahm, DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Sergio García, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell, per Bunkered's roster and LIV's own field notes. Four hold multiple majors.
Has Jon Rahm confirmed he's leaving LIV?
No. At LIV's season finale in Indianapolis he avoided the question and joked about getting a haircut, per Heavy. Reports of his departure trace to Ten Golf and to Telegraph sourcing describing LIV as resigned to losing him. Reports of agreed PGA Tour terms are unconfirmed.
What would LIV 2.0 look like?
Ten teams instead of 13, 90-player fields with a 50-player open format, and purses reportedly falling from $25 million to between $7 million and $9 million, per Golfmagic's account of Ten Golf's reporting. Other outlets put purses closer to $10 million. Nothing is official.
How much is Rahm owed by LIV?
Estimates range from more than $100 million to around $150 million, the latter cited by Heavy from Daily Golf Club. His original contract has been reported at $300 million, $350 million and $600 million by different outlets. No figure has been confirmed by Rahm or LIV.
Sources
- Golfmagic: Ten Golf report on Rahm, Watson and LIV 2.0 commitments.
- Heavy via Yahoo Sports: player departures, Indianapolis comments and contract reporting.
- LIV Golf: 2026 PGA Championship field notes.
- Bunkered: 2026 LIV roster listing.
- Golf Monthly: LIV roster confirmation.
- CBS Sports: Koepka's December 2025 exit and Rahm's 2023 signing.
- GOLFRAW LIV Golf desk: the latest league coverage.
- GOLFRAW search: find more reporting on Rahm and the PGA Tour.
How we reported this. GOLFRAW separates named reporting from unconfirmed contract and return claims, and counts the major winners by title year rather than reputation.
Author. GOLFRAW Editorial is GolfRaw's golf news and verification desk.
Corrections. None at publication. Corrections policy.
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