Report: Rahm In Fresh Talks To Join LIV Golf

If LIV Golf was to pull this off it would be their biggest coup. According to speculation this week Jon Rahm is supposed to be in talks with the Saudi breakaway circuit and there has been talk that as much as $600m could be the figure that gets the move over the line.

Of course the Spaniard is the current Masters champion and he has previously stated as recently as August that wanted to further his career on the PGA Tour.

"I laugh when people rumour me with LIV Golf," Rahm said on the podcast, Golf Sin Etiquetas. "I never liked the format. And I always have a good time with Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia in the practice rounds of majors.
Phil respects my decision, and I respect his. Mickelson has told me that I have no reason to go play for LIV, and he has told me that multiple times.”

Rahm was one of the first to join the Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy TGL venture, which has now been put back until 2025, but recently pulled out. The two-time major champ wrote on social media: "I am sad to confirm I will not be participating in the first season. Right now it would require a level of commitment I can't offer."

Aside from the huge sums on offer he is close with Mickelson's brother and caddy, Tim, who was his college coach, and there is the friendship of his one-time Ryder Cup partner, Sergio Garcia. If he was to make the move then he would likely join Garcia’s Fireballs GC side and he may well become a co-owner / co-captain of the Spanish franchise that also includes Eugenio Chacarra and David Puig.

There has always been the suspicion that Rahm has had his nose put out of joint by playing second fiddle to Rory and Tiger and he has now finished behind them in this week's PIP announcement though he will still pocket $9m.

And he was critical over the supposed merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf in June.

“Two minutes before the announcement came out, someone from the PGA Tour contacted me and told me everything. I thought it was a joke. This is what they should have done from the beginning. Instead, they generated division and then decided to come together again.”

When Rahm was asked about the advent of LIV Golf in June 2022 he had this to say...

"To be honest, part of the format is not really appealing to me. Shotgun three days to me is not a golf tournament, no cut. It's that simple. I want to play against the best in the world in a format that's been going on for hundreds of years. That's what I want to see.

"Truth be told, I could retire right now with what I've made and live a very happy life and not play golf again. So I've never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons. I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world. I've always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour has that."