While financially the move was a no-brainer, it is surely fair to say that Jon Rahm is yet to be vindicated for his decision to leave the PGA Tour and sign with LIV Golf in December 2023.
After 2022, no deal has sent shockwaves through the sport quite like Jon Rahm signing with LIV Golf. At the time, he was The Masters champion. It also appeared that a rivalry between himself and Scottie Scheffler was brewing after they had faced each other on Sunday at the Ryder Cup.
It did seem that Rahm’s move would force the two sides to step up talks and try and bring the game back together. And in the early stages of 2025, it looked inevitable that the Spaniard would get his wish.
However, talks between the PGA Tour and LIV have broken down. It appears that they are set to continue down their separate paths for some time to come now.
Concerns expressed for Jon Rahm after Brooks Koepka’s departure from LIV Golf
And LIV have now been dealt a further blow in December, with the news that Brooks Koepka has left the league ahead of the 2026 season.
Koepka was one of their biggest signings. So it sends out an ominous message that he has decided to leave – with no guarantees that he can return to the PGA Tour in the next 12 months.
And following Bryson DeChambeau’s comments about his own future in which he offered little assurances, Smylie Kaufman has told The Smylie Show that Rahm could be in big trouble.
“That would be I think almost the nail in the coffin for LIV [if DeChambeau left]. It really would be. Bryson, he is the box office for LIV. He has all the leverage in the world now that Brooks has left,” he said.
“Jon Rahm might as well just be sitting in a coffin. He is the worst spot you could possibly be because he signed later. His contract runs until later. So his issue is now that ‘one of the players that at least I could compete against, to where I could go head to head and at least somebody that I could compete against in major championships, now he’s gone’.
“If Bryson’s not playing, all of a sudden Rahm’s like, ‘shoot, what did I do?’ That’s the guy that comes to my brain in all this.”
LIV Golf has never been in a more precarious position since Jon Rahm’s defection
Rahm took a big gamble with his decision to leave the PGA Tour. The framework agreement had been announced a few months earlier, but there were no guarantees that the two sides would come back together.
In fairness, Rahm has done well on LIV. He has finished as the individual title winner at the end of both of the seasons he has played.
But his form in the majors has not been particularly impressive for someone of Rahm’s ability. And LIV’s critics will inevitably argue that his decision to defect had a negative impact on his performances in the four biggest events of the year.
It should be noted that Rahm played superbly at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage – hitting arguably the two best shots of the week in New York.
But the pressure on Rahm has now ramped up even further with one of LIV’s marquee players walking away.
LIV have arguably never been in a more vulnerable position since his arrival.
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