Rahm's Gone

Assessing why a major championship-focused player is making the move to LIV and leaving the PGA Tour in big trouble. The announcement is made on Fox News.

Take your pick of reasons Jon Rahm went against his word and has hopped on Saudi Arabia’s sportwashing bandwagon:

• The money, of course. It might be the richest contract ever given to an athlete. Rahm told Fox News’ Bret Baier that the advance money is “private and it’s going to stay private,” then proceeded to suggest he does not play for the money but wanted to give his family the “resources” necessary. The old put food on the table play which does actually work in some circles. Moments later, after having it pointed out that he’s made negative statements about LIV in the past, Rahm wheeled out his first of what are expected to be many “grow the game” pronouncements.

• The PGA Tour leadership legitimized sportwashing. Everything changed on June 6th when Jay Monahan flipped on Saudi Arabia, swooned over his new friend Yasir, and Jimmy Dunne forgot. This shocking turn occurred when the Tour appeared to have the upper hand from victorious decisions bound to put Yasir Al-Rumayyan in a deposition he wanted no part of.

• Easily annoyed. The general worldwide for Rory McIlroy gets to Rahm. He appears to loathe when, (A) McIlroy is held up as a standard bearer, (B) as the epitome of what the game stands for and, (C) when he’s viewed as golf’s greatest talent even as Rahm picked off two majors while McIlroy’s drought approaches a ten-year anniversary. We also know Rahm believed more toilet access during a round was a top priority. So his First World needs are as robust as his bladder is tiny.

• Global golfer. Rahm views the game globally and the PGA Tour’s future is shaping like a glorified AJGA schedule made by graduates of that borderline xenophobic college admissions program. The PGA Tour had its chance to re-imagine the operation into an F1 global spectacle largely based in the U.S., but the Delaware summit types made clear that is not of interest. “I want to leave the game of golf, at least in Spain, in a better state than I found it,” he told Fox News. “If I can do a little bit in Spain and maybe the rest of the world that will be a very successful career, and I hope that solves whatever issues there may be in the game.”

• Kooky advisors. Rahm’s got a strange inner circle and talks to people who’ve shown they aren’t the sharpest grooves in the set: Phil and Tim Mickelson, agent Steve Loy, and Sergio Garcia.

• Exempt. Rahm will make Masters appearances until he’s 65. He is in the U.S. Open until 2031. The PGA Championship and The Open through 2027. He also seems to have left open the door for appearances on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, telling Fox News: “LIV Golf gives me the freedom to be able to play golf when it doesn't conflict, with the PGA Tour or DP World Tour and I certainly want to be a part of that in the future.”

• Support from Callaway. An initial report suggests Callaway will take a stake in Rahm’s LIV team, where Rahm already has a stake in the company. This marks the first major corporation to back LIV.

• Underappreciated. Most marvel at how he has delivered on the hype of becoming the next star in golf. Or at how he learned English and continues to refine his eloquence. Or at his sincere appreciation for the past and at how he overcame a childhood deformity that limits mobility in his right leg. But we also see his on-course tantrums and swearing that suggest mood swings or even a darker side to his thinking. When he randomly revealed his childhood ankle issues—I was there and immediately asked a peer if he’d told this tale before and the answer was “definitely not”—Rahm seemed perterbed at golf media for not somehow knowing this previously-held secret.

All of these factors and more played into his rationale for going against his values and insisting that LIV was beneath him. So it’s what happened at the 2023 Masters and PGA Championship that ultimately allowed for Rahm to flip and take a leap of faith requiring him to play 54-hole shotguns over highest-bidder courses of little interest as music blares and cartoonishly crummy team names pretend to battle.

His move comes after 2023’s first two majors saw LIV defectors turn up and admit they took they money unsure of their future (Koepka), with another acknowledging the Saudi upstart league was not competitively deep (Smith). Only days later three LIV golfers had finished just behind Rahm at the Masters. Suddenly their light lead-in schedules looked brilliant.

A few weeks at Rochester’s PGA Championship we saw four LIV golfers finish in the top 20, led by champion Brooks Koepka.

Those two weeks dispelled the theory—one I believed wholeheartedly in and still think has merit despite those awful Masters performances—that there is value in playing the PGA Tour schedule of courses and diverse examinations. The showing by Tour players not named Rahm and Spieth may have been a fluke. Or it may have been fatigue given the intense run-up to Augusta where players face tough grinds at multiple (and now mandatory) stops including The Players, where the rough is excessively overseeded, the weather is dicey, and drivers take a back seat to irons off many tees.

LIV tuned up with just three events: Mayakoba, Tucson and Orlando. Those tournaments were played at El Chameleon, The Gallery and Orange County National. Hardly Pebble Beach or Riviera, but in hindsight just enough golf to knock off the rust and prepare players for the drive up Magnolia Lane.

Had he stayed with the PGA Tour in 2024, Rahm would have had to play five of the new “Signature” events plus, because he’s the type to feel obligated, defend his title in the American Express and play his hometown stop at TPC Scottsdale. Seven starts in 14 weeks leading into the Masters. After that a condensced major season awaited, jammed too tightly for the silly FedExCup. Throw in his well-stated desire to annually play in his home country and it’s just too much in a short time for a generational talent hellbent on racking up major titles.

So 2023 quietly proved less can be enough. At least with the first two majors. LIVsters were far less impressive at the U.S. Open and Open Championship and several players pegged as on the cusp of breaking through fizzled in the quadrilateral. But Rahm is in another league compared to those “guys.” The Masters performances reassured Rahm that he can continue his well-documented desire to make history by winning majors.

The Ryder Cup?