Jon Rahm's switch to LIV Golf has left me scunnered and close to hating the game

Spaniard’s move to Saudi circuit has been a tipping point for our golf correspondent

I’m scunnered by golf right now. In fact, I’m very close to hating it. And I don’t say that lightly because, believe me, my passion for the game runs deep, as lots of people around the world will testify from a combination of light-hearted conversations, healthy debates and even the odd heated argument about the sport over the years.

The latter, I have to admit, has occurred on more than one occasion over the past couple of years and, yes, the topic has always been golf’s divide, which, of course, has been created by Saudi Arabian money being pumped into golf and, in a very short time, establishing a level of greed that, quite frankly, is an embarrassment to the Royal & Ancient game.

Yes, that is mainly aimed at Jon Rahm right now because, as far as I am concerned anyway, someone who had the respect of my profession has lost that by showing all he had to say to us about “fealty to the PGA Tour”, “never really play golf for monetary reasons”, “always been interested in history and legacy” and would “laugh when people rumour me with LIV Golf” simply wasn’t true when push came to shove and, sorry, that’s unforgivable in my book.

Two-time major winner Jon Rahm is welcome to LIV Golf by the circuit's CEO and commissioner Greg Norman. Picture: LIV Golf

He’s eventually been swayed, of course, by a ridiculous amount of money, with his deal reported to be worth around $450 million, which has apparently made him the highest-paid athlete in the world and, staggeringly, means he will now earn $134 million more than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo combined. Bloody ridiculous, really, but, in fairness, that’s not Rahm’s fault as the Saudis were intent on making a statement signing at this particular time and they certainly did that.

What really irks me about it, having been consistent in saying that I have never had any issue whatsoever about players signing for LIV Golf provided they didn’t feel either the need or desire to feed at any other tour tables, is that this seems a very clear case of Rahm being advised to take an opportunity here to take his cake and keep eating it because, let’s face it, LIV Golf has, as Rory McIlroy put it, been “legitimised” since a deal was stuck in June to enter a Framework Agreement with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

Rather than sitting tight to see how those talks pan out and, according to the circuit’s chief operating officer Lawrence Burian, “Liv Golf is here to stay”, Rahm has filled his pockets, which some would probably say is no more than he deserves after arguably being the game’s best player over the past three years, winning two majors, four PGA Tour titles and two DP World titles, but that’s a way too simplistic way of looking at this, especially as it has left golf in a terrible place and all because selfishness driven by money and money alone has become the overriding theme with way too many people in the game.

Rahm came out with the line that he’s “proud to be part of something new that is bringing growth to the sport”. Come on big man, don’t try and insult us with that one as there is zero evidence of that being the case and also very little evidence of LIV Golf being the game changer we were promised by the circuit’s CEO and commissioner, Greg Norman. Not once since it launched have I ever overheard a conversation about it when I’ve been out and about in Scotland and I’ve found that very telling indeed about what is attempting to be created in a sport that is steeped in history and prides itself on tradition.

At the same time, though, I’m well aware from social media platforms in particular that there are LIV lovers out there and, boy, have they been puffing out their chests now that Rahm is on the player roster for the 2024 season. Though worth noting it can’t necessarily be a bottomless pit of money when it’s a business model they are trying to create, it will be interesting to see if more Saudi cash is splashed over the coming few weeks and, let’s face it, you could certainly see players probably thinking about it a bit differently now after Rahm being lured.

You wouldn’t really want to be in PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan’s shoes right now as it appears the potential power is even greater for Yasir-Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund and now owner effectively of three of the last five major winners after Rahm joined Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka by joining LIV.

One way at looking at this, of course, is that the Saudis aren’t happy about the PGA Tour, on top of its negotiations over a deal with PIF, having also embarked on a formal process to review outside investments, with interested potential investors reported to include sports conglomerate Endeavor and Fenway Sports Group, owners of Boston Red Sox and Liverpool. That might have led to where Rahm is now because, as this episode has shown, it appears everyone does indeed have a price.

As a consequence of that, the game of golf I’d grown to love dearly has had the heart ripped out of it over the past couple of years and, sadly, I fear the damage caused in that time to relationships in particular but also reputations will never be repaired. Yes, Seve Ballesteros loved being involved in a fight, but I honestly don’t think he’d be looking down on his beloved game and that includes compatriot Rahm right now with any feeling of satisfaction whatsoever. There, I told you I was scunnered!