NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Jon Rahm on Tuesday pushed back against the narrative that his defection to LIV Golf at the end of 2023 was a possible way to end golf’s civil war, saying that being a means to a larger-scale reunification was “never an argument in my mind.”
Rahm’s competitive future has been the subject of much speculation since it was announced recently that the Saudi Public Investment Fund will stop funding the four-year-old league at the end of this season.
Rahm confirmed last week that he is signed for “several” more years, and that, because of the ironclad nature of the agreement, he doesn’t see “many ways out” of the deal.
“I was never thinking that I was going to be any sort of weight that would tip the scales to make things come together,” Rahm said Tuesday at the PGA Championship. “That was never an argument in my mind. When asked if that was the case for people to come together, that would be great. I never made a decision based on that.”
Rahm’s stunning move at the end of 2023 – reportedly for a nine-figure sum – was a significant blow to negotiations between the PGA Tour and PIF after the two sides had reached a framework agreement six months earlier that ended the litigation and at least proposed a path forward for the splintered professional game.
Though Rahm has enjoyed consistent success on LIV, the Spaniard has failed to significantly factor in the major championships, at least to the same level that he did prior to 2024.
Speaking both specifically about this move and generally about his life philosophy, Rahm said he doesn’t dwell on past decisions.
“Whatever decision you’ve made or choice is thought through and made for the reasons that you think are proper reasons, there’s no sense in dwelling on it. In fact, you shouldn’t really be unhappy about it. At least there’s nothing that you regret,” he said. “If the terms change afterward, like it’s happened with LIV that things changed a little bit, it’s an afterthought, not a problem from the choice. I would say that elements have changed a little bit. That’s it.”
Rahm was asked a follow-up: What did he learn from this particular decision?
“That’s for me to know,” he said, “and that’s about that.”
Rahm said last week that he has reached an agreement with the DP World Tour that would allow him to continue to play those tournaments and remain eligible for the Ryder Cup – a pathway that took on renewed importance because of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding LIV.
Rahm added that he didn’t have trouble compartmentalizing the news about LIV’s shaky future because he tries not to focus on things that are outside of his control.
“My job is to play golf, and that’s what I can focus on,” he said. “It’s the people in charge of LIV – whose job I do not envy for a second, not now, and not when things are going well – it’s their job to fix it. ...
“I have faith in the work that they’re doing. I have faith that they’re going to come up with a good plan. Until that plan is explained to us, it’s not that there isn’t anything to worry about, but I don’t think I need to add any attention to it.”