LIV Golf chiefs ignore Jon Rahm and Cam Smith’s desperate Open Championship plea in huge schedule clash

LIV Golf has revealed its 2025 schedule, which includes a controversial snub that will frustrate breakaway stars.

Jon Rahm and Cam Smith — two of the rebel league’s biggest names — have vocally pushed for the inclusion of a links course.

LIV stars struggled at The Open Championship last year, with five of 16 players – including Smith – missing the cut.

Bosses were begged to feature a links event in the build-up to next year’s edition of golf’s oldest Major.

But the pleas have fallen on deaf ears with a return to Valderrama, Spain, on July 11 – the week before the Open.

The 1997 Ryder Cup host is a fine course but has drawn comparisons to the scenic beauty of Augusta rather than a rugged links like Northern Ireland’s Royal Portrush, which will host the 2025 Championship.

“It was really two polar opposites of golf,” Smith said to news.com.au last month.

“It was really hot [at Valderrama], and the ball was going a long way up in altitude, and then getting on to links [at Royal Troon], where it’s quite cold and windy, it’s probably not the best prep.”

The PGA Tour hosts the Genesis Scottish Open ahead of the Championship to allow its golfers to adjust to a different style of golf.

While the final LIV schedule is yet to be fully confirmed, Rahm was keen for the circuit’s Saudi Arabian chiefs to follow suit.