Jason Day admitted Jon Rahm's seismic move to LIV Golf from the PGA Tour made a certain amount of sense and called the Spaniard "a good candidate" to make the switch.
The current Masters champion's deal was confirmed late on Thursday for a figure reported to be around the $500 million mark - although it should be stressed that no number has been officially released.
The announcement put an end to ever-increasing speculation about Rahm and comes just weeks before the initial deadline for a unifying deal to take place between the Saudi Arabian PIF and the PGA Tour.
Day - speaking to Golf Channel's Amy Rogers at the Grant Thornton Invitational - admitted it was "a little bit unfortunate" that the PGA Tour would be losing one of its brightest stars but could not criticise Rahm for making the best decision for him and his family.
The Australian said: "I think if there was ever a person to go across, it would probably be him. Just because he's got at least the next five years of Majors, he's got Augusta for the rest of his life, and then his US Open - I'm not sure how long the exemption is, if it's five or 10 years - but he's in the Majors for the next five years. If there was someone who was a good candidate, it'd probably be him.
"I understand that some guys do it for the money - and the majority of the time, it is for the money - which I have no problem with. It's just a little bit unfortunate that we're going to lose one. It would have been nice to get past this deadline and see where things fell before he could make a decision, but I can't fault him for making that decision for himself and for his family as well."
"I have officially joined LIV Golf" pic.twitter.com/Anspxq4yNrDecember 7, 2023
Including the significant signing fee, Rahm is expected to co-own and captain his own LIV team - which would increase the number of sides in the League up to 13 - as part of several incentives to make the switch.
Joining the likes of Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose in wishing the two-time Major winner all the best, Day joked that it would make his quest to return to World No.1 ever so slightly easier.
Speaking before Rahm's news was confirmed, the 2015 PGA Championship winner said: “I think when guys get thrown money at them, everyone’s got a number in the end. I hope he makes the right decision by him and his family.
"It doesn’t matter to me. If he leaves, it makes my job easier because I don’t have to compete against him. I want him to be happy. That’s all that matters in the end."
"Huge coup for LIV, huge blow for the PGA Tour"Justin Rose on reports 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm has joined LIV Golf ⛳ pic.twitter.com/xOpGay2p3IDecember 7, 2023
Day - who has himself been reportedly linked with a move to LIV Golf - insists he completely understands why a player would want to go but was adamant reports stating he could be one of the next big names to follow Rahm are wide of the mark.
He said: “I still struggle to watch LIV. I do like some of the concepts they have. They haven’t quite nailed the format or the true excitement of what they’re trying to accomplish.
"It’s still not for me. I know there’s rumors about me going. They’re totally false. I don’t know where these rumors start... I haven’t had any connection to LIV.”
