After weeks of speculation, the news finally broke that Jon Rahm is taking his talents from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf.
The world No. 3 and reigning Masters champion explained his move Thursday night on a conference call with reporters and spoke about his legacy often. Rahm said his move was because he likes the LIV Golf product, the idea of playing in different countries and the innovation the league is pushing.
It didn’t take the PGA Tour, and its most famous player, too long to respond.
“Our focus remains on the PGA Tour and unifying the game for our fans and players,” a PGA Tour spokesman said to Golfweek. “We can’t speak for decisions that any individual players might make but based on the momentum of the past season and strength of the PGA Tour, along with the accelerated interest from and negotiations with a number of outside investors, we are in position to make our players equity owners and further allow the Tour to invest in our members, invest in our fans and continue to lead men’s professional golf forward.”
Within minutes of Rahm’s announced departure, 15-time major champion and Tiger Woods shared a memo that was sent to players on Dec. 1 – more on that here – that stated the Tour’s player directors are united and working together to “represent the PGA Tour, the entire player membership, and best interests of the sport.”
It’s no coincidence that Woods shared the week-old memo in the brief wake of the Rahm announcement. After world No. 2 Rory McIlroy left his role as a player director, it appears Woods has picked up the slack as a player spokesman for the Tour, and he may have his hands full in the coming weeks if more players follow in Rahm’s footsteps.
