Is the war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf really over? Despite both leagues reaching a framework agreement to merge in June, which they have until Dec. 31 to finalize, they are still very much in competition over the most coveted golfers in the world. LIV just snatched another one away from their supposed ex-rival, as two-time major champion Jon Rahm revealed the stunning news on Thursday.
With fans still processing the revelation that huge moves such as these can still happen as negotiations seemingly roll on, two prominent figures of the Saudi-backed tour are weighing in on this major coup.
“There are very few athletes with his pedigree of talent, leadership, poise, and commitment to bringing progress to the sport on a worldwide stage,” LIV CEO and commissioner Greg Norman told ESPN's Mark Schlabach. “We couldn't be more excited to welcome Jon to the LIV Golf family as the league continues preparations for a huge 2024 and beyond.”
Norman, a longtime PGA pariah, continues to land blows on the preeminent brand of the sport. Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, among other champions and notable talents, have all previously made the switch. But Rahm is truly an earth-shattering addition in what is supposed to be peacetime.
Jon Rahm can be a game-changer for LIV Golf
2023 individual LIV Golf champion Talor Gooch went further than Norman in his endorsement of the Spaniard, using the reportedly estimated $450-600 million signing as a means to address persisting criticisms of the alternative league.
“It makes all of the naysayers think a little bit about all of the doubts that have been made over the last couple of years,” Gooch said. “It just continues to fight the narrative that there's not great players at LIV and all these guys are past their prime and so on and so forth. He's a guy that is probably just hitting his prime and that's been probably the best player in the last five years.”
Jon Rahm, who is the No. 3-ranked golfer in the world, won his first Masters' Green Jacket and finished tied for second in The Open Championship in 2023. The 29-year-old has a strong chance of being LIV's most consistently dominant player.
Regardless of where one lies on the PGA versus LIV Golf debate, this ongoing saga continues to serve as a cautionary tale to never make bold proclamations that you cannot completely back up. Rahm's prior jabs at the tour's shotgun start and three-day format carry just as much weight as Jay Monahan's formerly unrelenting anti-LIV stance. None whatsoever.
Though, the PGA Tour commissioner could be feeling those past feelings of malice boil up to the surface after losing Rahm.
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