LIV Golf star Jon Rahm made waves when he decided to join the Saudi-backed golf league in favor of staying with the PGA Tour. But according to Rahm, the transition hasn’t been quite as easy as some may assume.
Rahm was paid handsomely to join LIV, accepting a $300 million multi-year contract. However, Rahm shared in a recent interview with ESPN’s Mark Schlabach that he does miss competing in a number of the PGA Tour events that both he and his family quite enjoy.
“I’m not going to lie; for everybody who said this would be easy, some things have been, but not being able to defend some titles that mean a lot to me hasn’t,” Rahm told Schlabach on Tuesday. “I love Palm Springs, I’ve been able to win twice there. Riviera is about as charismatic of a golf course as we have. It’s definitely a week that is fantastic for a lot of us, and it’s a fan and player favorite. Not being there was difficult.”
Rahm won at The Sentry, the American Express, and the Genesis Invitational in 2023, three events that took place recently since Rahm’s departure to LIV. So it is certainly understandable that he is a bit upset that he won’t be able to repeat as champion of those events.
Despite all this, Rahm added that he is comfortable with his decision to join LIV, and is eager to attempt to repeat in the one event that he can against PGA Tour players, at the 2024 Masters next month.
“It’s a decision I made, and I’m comfortable with it,” Rahm added. “But I’m hoping I can come back, and hopefully I can actually defend [at the Masters], as well. That would be a dream come true. Not many back-to-back champions, and that would be very unique to be able to put my name to that list.”
It will certainly be interesting to see whether Rahm’s play is still on point against the best the PGA Tour has to offer at The Masters. Especially since Scottie Scheffler, the No.1 ranked player in the world, is riding a hot streak in the build-up to Augusta National.
[ESPN]
