A clip of Jon Rahm insisting that he would not abandon the PGA Tour for a nine-figure sum has resurfaced amid reports the Spaniard has done exactly today.
The Masters champion has become the rebel circuit’s greatest coup with The Telegraph reporting that he has inked a deal worth $570 million to jump ship.
However, at one point in time the idea of the 28-year-old bolting from the PGA Tour seemed unfathomable with Rahm adamant that he would remain loyal.
Rahm insisted that his heart was with the PGA Tour during a press conference at the US Open in June 2022 and, as an announcement confirming his signing expected imminently, a video of his comments have gone viral on social media once again.
‘Shot gun, three days to me is not a golf tournament, no cut,’ the two-time major winner said, referring to LIV’s 54-hole format.
A clip of Jon Rahm insisting that he would not join LIV Golf has resurfaced this week
The Spaniard previously pledged fealty to the PGA Tour (pictured, commissioner Jay Monahan)
Rahm has officially jumped ship from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, according to reports
‘I wanna play against the best in the world in a format that’s been going on for hundreds of years. Would my lifestyle change if I got $400million? Not one bit,’ he added, hinting he had been offered and turned down a lucrative deal from Greg Norman and his band of merry men.
‘Truth be told I could retire right now with what I’ve made and live a very happy life and never play golf again.
‘So I’ve never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons. I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world. I’ve always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour has that.
‘There’s meaning when you win the Memorial Championship. There’s meaning when you win Arnold Palmer’s event at Bay Hill. There’s a meaning when you win, LA, Torrey, some of the historic venues. That to me matters a lot, right. After winning this past US Open, only me and Tiger have won at Torrey Pines, and it’s a golf course that we like, making putts on the 18th hole. That’s a memory I’m going to have forever that not many people can say. My heart is with the PGA Tour. That’s all I can say.’
However, Rahm did admit that he could understand some of the arguments other players had put forward for LIV’s appeal.
But the US Open wasn’t the first nor only time, Rahm had voiced his fealty to the PGA Tour.
‘I wanted to take this time to say that this is my official, my one and only time to talk about this, where I am officially declaring my fealty to the PGA Tour,’ Rahm said ahead of the 2022 Genesis Invitational as talk of LIV Golf launching picked up.
‘I’m a PAC [Player Advisory Council] member and I have a lot of belief in Jay Monahan and the product.
It marks a huge coup for the Saudi-backed breakaway (Pictured left, PIF governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and right, LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman)
‘There’s been a lot of talk and speculation on the Saudi league and it’s just not something that I believe is best for me and my future in golf and I think the best legacy I can accomplish is on the PGA Tour.
‘Everybody’s free to make their own choice, it’s as simple as that. All I can say is from somebody young like myself who has his entire future ahead of him, it doesn’t seem like a smart thing. Again, the only appeal I see is monetary, right? So like I said just earlier on, I think there’s a lot more to be able to play for besides just money on the PGA Tour. There’s history, there’s legacy. At the end of the day, I’m in this to win tournaments, I’m in this to play against the best in the world.’
Yet, six months after the US Open Tour commissioner Jay Monahan’s bombshell U-turn to declare an alliance with Saudi Arabia’s PIF, LIV’s backers, Rahm has performed an about-face of his own.
However, the move hasn’t come as that big a shock with telling signs hinting at a possible defection over the past couple of months, including pulling out of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL venture.
But, unlike in the past, Rahm had remained silent on the rumors, instead of publicly shutting them down, which only increased speculation that he was preparing for a PGA Tour exit.
