Two-time major champion Jon Rahm has been a voice of reason in the press building throughout the PGA Tour-LIV Golf soap opera, and his approach has been no different in the lead-up to the 2023 Open Championship. Without Rory McIlroy absent from questioning, the world No. 3 has been the light to which media members have been attracted when seeking answers to the controversial agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
Details around the agreement remain scarce despite it triggering a Senate hearing and producing op-eds from leadership. All that is known is “it’s an agreement to have an agreement,” as PGA Tour policy board member Jimmy Dunne outlined in Washington, D.C., last week.
Plenty needs to be hashed out between the two sides, including the potential to compensate those who remained loyal to the PGA Tour in the wake of astronomical paydays for players to defect to LIV Golf. The likes of Cameron Smith, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau all reportedly received contracts north of nine figures. The likes of Rahm, McIlroy and the rest of the PGA Tour loyalists? Not a dime.
“I understand the PGA Tour wanting to do something for those players who helped and stayed on the PGA Tour, but at the same time — and I’ll be the first one to say — I wasn’t forced into anything. It was my choice to stay,” said Rahm. “Do I think they absolutely should be and there must be a compensation? No. I just stayed because I think it’s the best choice for myself and for the golf I want to play.
“Now, with that said, if they want to do it, I’m not going to say no,” Rahm said with a chuckle. “We all had the chance to go to LIV and take the money and we chose to stay at the PGA Tour for whatever reason we chose. As I’ve said before, I already make an amazing living doing what I do. I’m extremely thankful, and that all happened because of the platform the PGA Tour provided me. As far as I’m concerned they’ve done enough for me, and their focus should be on improving the PGA Tour and the game of golf for the future generations.”
Dunne has floated the idea of PGA Tour loyalists receiving an equity share in PGA Tour Enterprises — the new for-profit entity in which the PIF will be a minority investor — while LIV Golf members would be restricted. Monetary payouts and additional channels through which compensation could flow towards the likes of Rahm are surely to be pitched in negotiations.
Now, more than a month removed since the announcement of the landmark agreement on June 6, tempers have cooled for some but remain simmering for others. Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele lamented at the Scottish Open that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has work to do to regain their trust after being left in the dark.
Monahan returned to work on July 17 after stepping away from his duties to deal with an undisclosed medical condition.
“What you guys saw was a lot of initial reaction,” said Rahm. “Obviously it was our initial emotions as to what happened, and now a bit of the realization, of okay, now we have to wait until, what is it, January 1st or whenever the agreement says they need to finalize those negotiations. Right now it’s kind of the game of waiting. Hopefully they can reach … a partnership that they both are happy what the outcome is going to be, and everybody can move on and be the best golf product we can put out there. Whatever that looks like, I don’t know. I think it’s obviously cooling down, and now we’re all waiting to see how this moves forward.”