Masters champion Jon Rahm has joined LIV Golf in a deal worth upwards of £450million, arguably the biggest player coup for the rebel series to date.
The world No3 had long been a mouthpiece for the PGA Tour and golf’s established order but had been rumoured for a switch to the breakaway series in the weeks after his starring role in Europe’s Ryder Cup success.
And that move was finally made official on Thursday night in a deal worth an initial £300m but potentially much more having been given a stake in owning an LIV team.
Announcing his signing for LIV, Rahm told Fox News: “This is me finally saying after all of the rumours… I have officially joined LIV Golf. It’s not an easy decision. There’s a lot of things that LIV Golf had to offer which were very, very enticing.
“I play golf for the love of the game and for the love of golf. I’m an ambitious person but I’m not a greedy one. But as a husband, as a father and as a family man, I have a duty to them to give them the most amount of opportunities and the most amount of resources possible.”
The timing of the deal could not be worse for the PGA and DP World Tours as an end-of-the-month deadline approaches over merger talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which were first unveiled in June.
The PGA Tour have been listening to approaches from other potential investors in recent weeks, ranging from Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) to Liberty Media, which owns Formula 1.
Talks are due to be held next week between PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who finds himself in a strong position on any bargaining table for golf’s future following the Rahm signing. There have also been growing rumours over two other high-profile LIV signings in the coming weeks.
Rahm’s signing has huge ramifications in the talks but also in the future eligibility of European players in Ryder Cup golf, with Rahm’s continental team-mate Rory McIlroy changing his previous stance to be adamant that the Spaniard must play in the next edition in New York in 2025.
Of his own Ryder Cup future, this year's Augusta winner readily admitted that he had “taken a risk” with his cross-tour switch.
He said: “My position for the Ryder Cup remains the same. I’ve explained many times how meaningful it is to me and I hope I can be in future editions.
"It’s a big risk to take but I’m hopeful that I can be part of the Ryder Cup again"
“That’s not up to me right now but, if it was up to me, I’ll be eligible to play so I surely hope I can keep up the good golf and given them a reason to have me on the team. It’s a big risk to take but I’ve had it in consideration and, again, I’m hopeful that I can be part of the team again.”
Rahm's signing is a dramatic U-turn from his previous stance over LIV. He had previously said the shotgun starts and 54 holes of golf per tournament were “not appealing” and that he had no interest in simply chasing the money.
