LIV Golf have arguably not managed to pull off a bigger coup in their existence than the deal to lure Jon Rahm away from the PGA Tour ahead of the 2024 season.
Jon Rahm was arguably one of the best players on the planet when he decided to join LIV Golf. He was The Masters champion, while he had played a key role in Europe winning the Ryder Cup in Rome.
He has certainly been outstanding on LIV. The Spaniard has won the individual title two years running, while his Legion XIII side won the Team Championship this past season. However, that has not prevented Rahm from coming in for criticism.
Rahm has been poor in the majors over the last two years. He has not finished in the top six at one of the four biggest events of the season since The Open Championship in 2023.
One part of Jon Rahm’s game has regressed since his move to LIV Golf
Meanwhile, LIV were mocked after Rahm won the season-long title in 2025 despite not winning a single tournament.
It does appear that the LIV format has done Rahm few favours. And that may be a concern for Luke Donald with the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black just around the corner.
Rahm is surely one of the leading contenders to play five matches in New York. But speaking on 5 Clubs ahead of next week’s event, writer Jaime Diaz admitted that he has some doubts about whether the 30-year-old has benefitted from his move to LIV.
“I think Jon often felt very sensitive about getting criticised for blowing up on the golf course, and rightfully so, it’s not a great look. But it didn’t mean that he couldn’t play, that he had given away his ability to perform. It was something he needed to do, that’s his personal way. I’m sure he’s monitored it to some extent, Tiger has some of that too – he was great at being ready on the next shot, and I think Jon’s probably gotten better at that too,” he said.
“I think his level of play is as high as ever as far as the shots he can hit, but can he compete to the same level with the confidence and the sense of emotional control that he needs, because of what’s happened with LIV? He’s been criticised so much, that he may have – it’s a loaded thing to say – but he may have some regrets that he did give away a couple of years of his career.
“And so, maybe psychologically, he’s just not primed in the same way, because he hasn’t finished as well. Even in the LIV events, for the longest time, he wasn’t winning them. He’s a dominator, man, he should be blowing those guys away.
“This is just from the outside, I have no idea, and he’ll probably get mad, but I don’t think he’s quite the same mentally. That doesn’t mean that he won’t rise up in the Ryder Cup. It’s a great place for him to prove himself again. He might have extra motivation and might play and be the star of the whole show, but I still think he’s a question mark in terms of will he produce peak play commensurate with who he is in the game of golf?”
When Jon Rahm was linked with a move back to the PGA Tour
There is always going to be speculation surrounding whether a player regrets their decision to join LIV.
Ultimately, there are over 50 players involved in something which is unique at the highest level. It is inevitable that some would have questioned their choice because it is so different to what they have been used to.
There were reports Rahm regretted joining LIV and was ready to do all he could to return to the PGA Tour in August 2024. Of course, Greg Norman labelled the reports Rahm wanted to leave ‘laughable’.
The evidence since obviously points to the idea that the claims were wide of the mark.
What will be telling is what most of their star players decide once their current contracts expire. Should they extend their terms with LIV, the golfing world will have to take the league a lot more seriously.
But should there be an exodus which sees many attempt to return to the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, it will arguably say a great deal about what those players really thought about LIV once they had gone across.
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