One thing LIV Golf didn’t have in its first couple of seasons was a true in-his-prime superstar golfer.
Until (reportedly) now.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Jon Rahm — currently the No. 3 golfer in the world, winner of two majors and one of the biggest names in the game — was set to join LIV. The Telegraph reported earlier in the week that “Multiple sources have told Telegraph Sport that they ‘expect’ Rahm, the world No 3, to sign imminently and take control of his own team.”
Like with the merger talk between LIV and the PGA Tour, we have so many questions: What does this mean for that possible merger? Will more star golfers follow suit and join LIV?
Fans are now worried about the future of the PGA Tour:
The PGA Tour’s series of mistakes over the last two years will go down in history books. They might truly be cooked. https://t.co/1cktqkM4Q4
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 7, 2023
If Rahm signs w/LIV, the PGA Tour is in a world of hurt. To the point I feel they have to let LIV guys play in their events. Of course, the problem with that—and the flaw in LIV’s original “We want to co-exist!” claim—is how many extra events could he even play w/14 LIV + majors?
— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) December 6, 2023
Step 1: announce all the "trades"
Step 2: announce Rahm
Step 3: Unveil new team
Step 4: Armageddon— Golf Unfiltered (@GolfUnfiltered) December 7, 2023
Telegraph and the WSJ are both reporting that Jon Rahm will be joining LIV Golf as early as this week.
The reigning masters champion would get over $500 million — more than the entire 2023 PGA Tour prize pool.
That's a huge blow to the PGA Tour, especially with their December… pic.twitter.com/DWVG3gLD42
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) December 7, 2023
Jon Rahm was #2 on the PGA Tour money list last year.
He is leaving for LIV.
For context that would be like Scherzer, Degrom, or Cole leaving MLB for another league.
Wild to think about.
— Jacob Turner (@TheJacobTurner) December 7, 2023
the Rahm news feels like the fitting encapsulation of how much the PGA Tour has botched *gestures at all of this*
the guy publicly pledged his allegiance to you multiple times and yet…
— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) December 7, 2023
We’ll see how the next few months/years play out, but this could turn out to be the fatal blow to the PGA Tour. Losing Rahm absolutely sucks and will surely lead to more high profile defections. https://t.co/pXPr5XLuAU
— Rob Slater (@RobSlater10) December 7, 2023