Jon Rahm Reportedly Joining LIV Golf, Goes Back On His Word After Pledging Loyalty To PGA Tour
After weeks of rumors that never seemed to go away, Jon Rahm is set to officially join LIV Golf in the coming days, according to the Wall Street Journal. His decision to bolt to the Saudi-backed circuit comes after multiple occasions in which he pledged his loyalty to the PGA Tour.
"A deal for Rahm is expected to be announced this week, people familiar with the matter said, assuming talks don’t fall apart," according to the WSJ. Terms of the Spaniard's deal are not yet known, but it is expected to be the largest offered contract by the Saudi-backed circuit since its inception.
Like every other player who has left the Tour to join LIV over the last two years, Rahm's decision will garner mixed reactions. The Spaniard's move to the breakaway circuit is a bit unique, however, seeing as how he had pledged his loyalty to the PGA Tour on multiple occasions.
On February 16, 2022, Rahm officially declared his "fealty" to the Tour.
“This is my official, my one and only time I’ll talk about this, where I am officially declaring my fealty to the PGA Tour,” Rahm said three months before LIV Golf's inaugural event. “I’m a PAC member, and I have a lot of belief in (commissioner) Jay Monahan and the product that they’re going to give us in the future."
"There has been a lot of talk and speculation about the Saudi league. It’s just not something I believe is the best for me and my future in golf, and I think the best legacy I can accomplish will be with the PGA Tour.”
Rahm backed the Tour yet again in June 2022.
"I have always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour has that. There's a meaning when you win the Memorial Championship. There's a meaning when you win Arnold Palmer's event at Bay Hill. There's a meaning when you win LA, Torrey, some of these historic venues. That to me matters a lot."
"My heart is with the PGA Tour. That's all I can say."
The timing of those comments is of utmost importance. The world of professional golf was flipped on its head on June 6, 2023, when the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF announced plans for a merger. Reality, and perhaps Rahm's perspective, was much different in 2022 than it is today.
Jon Rahm is headed to LIV Golf, delivering a huge blow to the PGA Tour. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Rahm's Exit Hands PGA Tour Its Biggest Blow Yet
Just as the details of the proposed merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF are unclear, so too is what the PGA Tour and professional golf will look like in the months to come.
If we are to assume that the PGA Tour will operate as it traditionally has and LIV will be an entirely separate operation, then there is no other way to put it: Jon Rahm joining LIV Golf is a catastrophic blow to the Tour.
While losing a two-time major winner and an incredibly marketable and likable former World No. 1 player who is still under 30 immediately hurts the Tour with his absence, Rahm leaving serves as a sobering reminder that the Saudis and their bottomless pockets aren't just happily playing along as a follower.
The Saudis and LIV Golf want to be the leaders of professional golf.
Everyone has a price, and while Rahm's was incredibly ginormous, the Saudis are clearly willing to pay whatever it takes to keep climbing up the ladder. Each rung LIV adds on its later it's one less the Tour has to stand on. In this case, LIV took more than just one rung off the Tour's ladder with Rahm jumping ship.
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