After weeks of rumours, it is now officially confirmed: Jon Rahm will play at LIV Golf from the coming season. This means that the reigning Masters champion and world number three will be joining the tour, which was launched in 2022.
Jon Rahm: “I am officially joining LIV Golf”
“As you can see now it’s official. This is me finally saying after all the rumours, some of them were true, and I am officially joining LIV Golf,” Rahm said in an interiew with Fox News. “It’s not an easy decision. I’ve had a very successful career and I’m happy. There are a lot of things that LIV Golf have to offer which were very enticing, starting with team golf.” The Spaniard will even have his own LIV Golf team, but details of this will be announced at a later date.
In an interview with Fox News, the 29-year-old did not want to confirm any concrete information about the sum that Jon Rahm will ultimately receive for his transfer, but sums of between 300 and 600 million dollars were rumoured in advance. However, Jon Rahm reiterated his position that he is not interested in the money. “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.” As a husband and father, however, he said it was still important to him to provide his family with as many opportunities and as many resources as possible.
Rahm: “I can make it something very special.”
However, the main reason for his decision was: “The love of the game and wanting to grow it in a global market. Being part of the team. Being a captain. Hopefully being a leader to team-mates. It makes me want to work harder than I have done now to actually prove myself.”
“Hopefully some time in the future some kids in Spain will want to be part of this team that I am going to build. Hopefully it’s something that I am related to for a very long time. Hopefully until the day I die. And I can make it something very special.”
Jon Rahm is the next high-calibre golf star to join LIV Golf, after players such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau have joined LIV Golf in recent years.
Rahm had originally ruled out a switch, showing no interest in the format and pledging his allegiance to the PGA Tour. However, some time has passed since then and there have been a number of changes in the golf landscape, most notably the co-operation between the PGA and DP World Tour and the PIF. Rahm was also scheduled to be a member of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL, but withdrew from the project before its postponement to 2025 was announced. As things stand, his move to LIV will cost him his PGA Tour membership and could jeopardise future Ryder Cup appearances.