Jon Rahm left for LIV Golf last Thursday. On Monday, the PGA Tour officially suspended him, which bars him from defending his title at the season-opening Sentry as well as two other Tour stops in 2024.
The Tour sent a memo to players alerting them of the move, which was not unexpected, “due to his association with a series of unauthorized tournaments.”
And with that, Rahm is removed from the FedEx Cup standings, where he finished 18th after playing in what turned out to be his final PGA Tour event, the 2023 Tour Championship at East Lake.
But one man’s change of golf leagues is three others’ massive improvement in status for 2024.
As Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson pointed out, Mackenzie Hughes just got a gold ticket into each of the signature events next year, Alex Smalley gets into a pair of them and Carl Yuan gets his card.
Rahm suspended by PGA merely a formality. But it moves Mac Hughes to No. 50 for the seven $20 million events, gets Alex Smalley starts at Pebble and Riv … and it gets Carl Yuan a full card. All move up one spot in FedEx Cup
— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) December 12, 2023
The writing had been on the wall for weeks concerning Rahm’s decision as he backed out of the TGL – the new tech-infused league led by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy – before the league was postponed until 2025. He also wasn’t listed in the field for the PGA Tour’s upcoming American Express next month, where he’s the defending champion.
