Defending Masters champion Jon Rahm admits he misses many things about the PGA Tour and hopes to be able to play there once again in the future.
Rahm, who joined LIV Golf in December last year on a reported $550 million deal, says he has been enjoying his first year on the tour, even suggesting he feels in better physical shape than he did ahead of winning the green jacket last year.
But he says he does still “love the PGA Tour”, and especially misses playing at some of the big venues and events.
“I mean, there's no secret, I've mentioned a few times, there's some venues that I miss not being at, not only because I won but just because I love it,” he said ahead of his practice round at The Masters on Tuesday.
“And that's the reason why I played well in those tournaments. Not being at Palm Springs, Torrey, Phoenix and LA wasn't the easiest. And I'll keep saying that because those are venues that I absolutely love.
“And driving by Phoenix as often as I had to, seeing the stands, and knowing that I wasn't going to be there was quite hard. I still love the PGA Tour, and I still hope everything the best, and I still hope that at some point I can compete there again.”
He has also missed playing against certain players, but says he has enjoyed the many positives that come from competing on LIV.
“I mean you do miss competing against certain people, right? But at the end of the day, I've had so much to focus on – the dynamic has changed a little bit, obviously. I'm a team leader, a team captain, to an extent. It's still golf. I can't really influence what they do on the golf course.
“And a lot of good, a lot of positives to look forward to. I've had a lot of fun playing in those events. The competition's still there. Yeah, they're smaller fields, but you still have to beat some of the best players in the world and you still have to play at the same level you have to play on the PGA Tour to win those events. So that doesn't change.
“It's been fun to be part of a team. It's one of the driving factors for me to make the change. It's fun to be a part of a family and part of a common goal as a team. And enjoying those team victories has been really, really fun.”
Rahm has competed five times on LIV so far this year, with his best individual finish being a tie for third at Mayakoba in February, meaning a lighter schedule in the lead up to the Masters than he’s used to. But he believes playing less isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Well, you're saying like playing a little bit less is a bad thing, which I wouldn't think it is,” he said in response to a question about him playing fewer competitive rounds this year. “If anything, if I would go based on how I feel today on a Tuesday, I feel physically better than I did last year. But then once competition starts, it doesn't really matter. Once the gun goes off, whatever you feel is out the window; you got to go out there and post a score.
“So it wouldn't be the first time. It wouldn't be the first time we hear somebody not feeling their best and winning. The first one that comes to mind is Ben Crenshaw after he lost his swing coach and to come back after being at the funeral and win it. So it's not something that I have in mind, but I do feel fresh and ready for it.”
He added that the pressure of playing on LIV isn’t any different to the pressure he felt while competing on the PGA Tour.
“To me, that's an argument that, if you haven't experienced being playing in a tournament, you can't really understand,” he said when asked if he feels the same pressure and intensity while competing on LIV Golf. “I understand there's less people. I understand the team format's a little different. I understand we're going shotgun and things are a little bit different to how they are in a PGA Tour event. But the pressure's there. Like, I want to win as bad as I wanted to win before I moved on to LIV.
“So, yeah, going down the stretch when you're in contention is the exact same feelings. That really doesn't change. The same way it was when I went through the Spanish Open or many other events where the field might not be up to the level that it could be on a designated event, winning is winning, and that's what matters.”
Jon Rahm On The current state of golf
Rahm also spoke about the fractured state of the professional game, and admitted that he had hoped his decision to join LIV last year would eventually help bring the game back together, or at least expedited an agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which remains under negotiation.
“I understood my position, yes. And I understood that it could be, what I hoped, a step towards some kind of agreement, yes. Or more of an agreement or expedited agreement. But, unfortunately, it's not up to me. But I would hope it would be something that would help expedite that process. But at the end of the day, I still did what I thought was best for myself.”
While he is content with his decision to leave the PGA Tour, he is still concerned about his place in the European team for next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
“Am I concerned? Yeah, I hope I can be there. I hope I play well enough to earn my way there. And if I have to be picked, I hope I can get picked. Yeah, I want to be there. That's definitely something I want to do and I don't want to miss.”
Asked about the current qualification criteria for the Majors, with world ranking points not available for LIV players, Rahm said: “I'm going to say what I've said: There's a lot of people a lot smarter than me that could figure this out in a much more efficient way. But the obvious answer is that there's got to be a way for certain players in whatever tour to be able to earn their way in … There's got to be a fair way for everybody to compete.
“They'll need to figure out a way to evaluate how the LIV players are doing and how they can earn their way. And I understand there's less players and you can't give 10 people or 15 people a start, but there's got to be a way for some players to earn their way in. That's the best way I can say it. I just don't really know what that looks like.”
Jon Rahm's Champions' dinner
Rahm says his preparation for the Masters as a defending champion hasn’t really changed, aside from Tuesday night’s champions dinner, which he admits he’s nervous about hosting.
“Well, everybody I talked to seems very excited about the menu, which, if anything, has put a lot more pressure on me, even though I'm not cooking. So, yeah, I'm definitely a little nervous.
“It is quite daunting to think about the room you're going to be in and having to stand up and talk to that group of players. I mean, it's basically all the living legends in this game, active and non-active. Everybody who's been somebody in this game is there. So as wonderful as it is to be a part of, it's still, yeah, a little nerve-wracking for sure.”
Jon Rahm On His legacy
Asked about his legacy in the game and what it means to him, Rahm replied: “Well, luckily it's still quite early in my career to be thinking about legacy. So it's not really something I have in mind constantly.
“But I've said it many times, one of the great things about Seve [Ballesteros] in Spain is how much he grew the game in Spain. When he started playing golf, there was, I think, 15,000 licensed golfers in Spain. And by the time he passed away, there was over 300,000.
“So however I can influence that to increase and have more playing opportunities in Spain and more people involved in the game, in this wonderful game we all love, I think that would be a success in my mind, however that looks like.”
Has leaving the PGA Tour for LIV changed his legacy?
“I mean, will it change? Yeah. It's a bit of a detour on my path. But change can be better.”
