Former LIV Golf star Jon Rahm has broken his silence, explaining why he left the league and when he might return to the PGA Tour.
“Well, I would say I can only reflect on those three years as a positive. It was a wonderful experience. Played a lot of good golf. Obviously individually and as a team, we did great,” said the former Legion XIII team owner.
“And then, you said why I rejected the terms? As much as I liked the project and the idea on, let’s say, LIV 1.0, I wasn’t thrilled with the changes they were doing to 2.0 and I just wasn’t willing to follow that path, right. It wasn’t anything special, anything that stood out. I just, yeah, I didn’t like what they were going with 2.0.”
Rahm added: “Too many unknowns at the time and there are still quite a few. It seemed like it was going away from team golf and some of the things that made LIV, LIV. It just became more of a regular tour. “So yeah, it wasn’t really ever much of a consideration to be honest.”
He was then asked about what the future holds and whether there could be a potential PGA Tour return in 2027:
“I know for sure I can play DP World Tour, right. They have been really gracious and allowed me to play and continue to keep supporting the tournaments that they allow me to play. With the PGA Tour, things are a little bit different. I haven’t been able to speak to them yet until things are finalised, which should be hopefully soon, and then we’ll see,” continued Rahm.
“I don’t know what is in store for us. We know what they did with Brooks. This is different circumstances. I don’t know what things are going to look like. But it’s a pretty good safety net to have that I can play the DP World Tour next year, and if it comes to that, I’m really excited to play for a full year.”
“So I have yet to have a discussion with the PGA Tour to see if there’s any path back for next year. So I don’t know, as of right now. Until I get clarity on that, yeah, my plan would be to spend the year on the DP World Tour, and I’m looking forward to it.”
“Currently looking at the schedule to see how I can organise it to play the events I want to play. You know, maybe have a chance to have a bit of a different year to what I have in the past.
“But I haven’t really gone too deeply into it just because there’s still a question mark, right. Obviously Brooks was able to go back through certain circumstances. I don’t know if the possibility of that would be open for me or not, but if I have to fulfill a one-year suspension, I think it’s a pretty good position to be that a worst-case scenario I get to play on a wonderful tour for a whole year.
“I will be supporting the Tour, for sure, and even if I get to go and play PGA Tour events, I’ll still play European Tour events, as well. I’ll play some events that I want to play like I’ve done in the past and maybe a few more.
“Most likely, yeah. Why not? Yeah, but it’s a big if. I seriously doubt I get offered the same deal that Brooks did. But yeah, if I got offered exactly the same penalties as him, I probably would do it, yes.”
Article Link: Rahm reflects on LIV, looks to path ahead