Jon Rahm reveals he was 'one of the people that pushed' for LIV Golf's 72-hole format ahead of season opener in Riyadh
Published 02/02/2026 at 20:15 GMT
Jon Rahm - winner of the individual and team titles in last year's LIV Golf season - said he was "one of the people that pushed for" the competition to expand its previous 54-hole format to 72. Rahm will be hoping for similar success alongside Legion XIII team-mates Tyrrell Hatton, Caleb Surratt and Tom McKibbin as the season gets underway in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, February 4.
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Jon Rahm has welcomed LIV Golf's change to a 72-hole format and said he was "one of the people that pushed for" the new set-up.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the 2026 season opener in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - which begins on Wednesday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - Rahm said he was happy to see the format expanded, with tournaments last year being played across 54 holes.
"I'm happy about it," Rahm said. "I would say I was one of the people that pushed for it. So obviously I'm happy about it.
"I think the more golf we play, the better for stronger teams and stronger players, and I think it will benefit us four individuals and as a team, as well."
Rahm is hoping to replicate his success from last season, which saw him claim individual and team championships.
He returns alongside the same team-mates that brought success last year: Tyrrell Hatton, Caleb Surratt and Tom McKibbin.
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On the unchanged line-up, Hatton said: "I think that we as a team are very strong across the four.
"Winning the team championship last year sort of proved that. Nothing needed to change in our team. So obviously we've stayed the same, and hopefully we can win again this season."
The opening event of the 2026 season is set to be an intriguing one, with Riyadh offering the rare spectacle of night golf, under floodlights.
Hatton said that while the challenge can be enjoyable, he is "happy it's a one-off".
"It's fun to experience it, and it creates something different," Hatton said. "But yeah, I'm happy that it's only once a season."
McKibbin - meanwhile - reflected on last season, when making his debut in the competition aged 22, and said the night-time spectacle is "pretty cool to be a part of".
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"Yeah, it was obviously my first LIV event," he said. "I obviously didn't really know what to expect too much. Obviously it being at night, it made for a cool first experience, something that I really enjoy playing under the lights, something very different.
"It was a lot of fun, I think. Obviously it's very new. I don't think any other golf event had been played in the dark. Sort of just the whole difference of what I was used to playing normal sort of golf. It made for a cool week, and yeah, definitely made me look forward to this event quicker. So it was a fantastic week."
It was confirmed on Monday that Phil Mickelson would be absent from the first two LIV Golf events due to a "family health matter".
Lee Westwood will also be absent for the Riyadh and Adelaide events with a wrist injury.
LIV Golf 2026 schedule
The LIV Golf 2026 season will see 13 events played between February and August, with the dates and schedule below.
- February 4-7 – ROSHN Group LIV Golf Riyadh, Riyadh Golf Club, Saudi Arabia
- February 12-15 – LIV Golf Adelaide, The Grange Golf Club, Australia
- March 5-8 – HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong, Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling, Hong Kong
- March 12-15 – LIV Golf Singapore, Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore
- March 19-22 – LIV Golf South Africa, Steyn City, South Africa
- April 16-19 – LIV Golf Mexico City, Club de Golf Chapultepec, Mexico
- May 7-10 – LIV Golf Virginia presented by Maaden, Trump National DC, USA
- June 4-7 – LIV Golf Andalucia, Real Club Valderrama, Spain
- June 25-28 – LIV Golf Louisiana, Bayou Oaks at City Park, USA
- July 23-26 – LIV Golf UK by JCB, JCB Golf and Country Club, Great Britain
- August 6-9 – LIV Golf New York, Trump National Bedminster, USA
- August 20-23 – LIV Golf Indianapolis, The Club at Chatham Hills, USA
- August 27-30 – Aramco LIV Golf Michigan, The Cardinal at Saint John’s, US
How to watch the LIV Golf 2026 season
TNT Sports and its streaming platform discovery+ will broadcast all 14 global events from the 2026 LIV Golf season.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
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