Jon Rahm officially signs with LIV Golf
Jon Rahm, the defending Masters champion, one time declared his “fealty” to the PGA Tour. Yet on Thursday, his about-face became official. He has signed with LIV Golf.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that a Rahm LIV jump was imminent Thursday morning following weeks of speculation about the No. 3 ranked golfer in the world. Then GolfChannel.com confirmed the signing later in the day.
Rahm announced the move himself on Fox News Thursday evening.
How much did it cost to sway Jon Rahm to a league backed by Saudi Arabia? ESPN reported that Rahm will receive a three-year, $300 million deal plus an ownership stake in a new LIV team. Rahm himself didn’t address the dollar figure during his announcement, however.
Earlier this year, the PGA and the LIV shocked the sports world when sides announced plans to merge with the DP World Tour. The final details of the merger are supposed to be completed by Dec. 31. The PGA starts its 2024 schedule the first week in January. Meanwhile, the LIV begins competition the first week in Feburary.
The Saudia Arabia Public Investment Fund is the financial backer of LIV and the entity paying so much money to the world’s top-ranked golfers. Jon Rahm probably is the biggest name to sign to date. He joins the likes of Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau. When Rahm won the Masters in April, Mickelson and Koepka tied for second, while fellow LIV golfer Patrick Reed, a former champion in Augusta, finished tied for fourth.
In the initial merger plans, there was a clause preventing the tours from signing away each other’s stars. However, the U.S. Department of Justice raised antitrust concerns, so the clause was removed.
Signs already pointed to Jon Rahm joining LIV
So why now for Jon Rahm? He initially was against the league, with its 54-hole team tournaments and shotgun starts. He said “I wanna play against the best in the world in a format that’s been going on for hundreds of years.”
However, it hasn’t been a secret that he’s toyed with the idea. The chatter about a potential switch grew louder the past few weeks. He dropped out of a virtual golf league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Plus, he has yet to commit to a tournament next month where he’s the defending champion. Plus, he’s close with Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, a fellow Spaniard and former Masters champion who now plays for LIV.
And, Jon Rahm won’t have to worry about possible problems playing in some of golf’s biggest tournaments. Because of his Masters win, he’s guaranteed to play in all the sport’s four majors for the next five years, if not more. His green jacket also comes with a Masters lifetime exemption. And because he won the U.S. Open in 2021, he’s exempt into the next eight. So he’ll get a number of tournaments against the sport’s best, no matter which tour he plays.