Ryan Lavner says what Jon Rahm has struggled with more than most players since joining LIV Golf

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Ryan Lavner has suggested what he believes Jon Rahm may have found more difficult than most of the other players who have made the move from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf.

Golf fans probably would not have believed you late last year had they been told that Jon Rahm‘s first win on LIV Golf would come towards the end of July, with the Spaniard one of the best on the planet when he made the shocking defection in the weeks after the Ryder Cup.

It seemed a matter of time when Rahm’s Legion XIII team won on their LIV debut at Mayakuba, and the 29-year-old has been one of the tour’s most consistent performers – not finishing outside the top 10 individually all season. But that victory did not come until LIV Golf UK at the weekend.

Rahm also had a disappointing year in the majors, with his performance at The Open proving to be, by far, his best showing in one of golf’s four biggest events.

What Jon Rahm has found difficult since LIV Golf move

Some wondered whether Rahm’s move to LIV may dent his hopes of adding to his two major titles, but he will take enormous confidence from his win at JCB, and he will hope that it acts as a turning point.

Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Lavner shared why he believes the 2023 Masters champion has taken so long to get across the finishing line on LIV.

“I think it’s certainly been an adjustment for Jon Rahm, has it not; I mean this is the first time in his career that he has really endured media criticism, some of which was warranted. It was clear, despite his protesting in some press conferences, that he clearly was not playing his best,” he said.

“He’d struggled with his driver, he’d made a driver shaft switch after the PGA Championship. I also think that the switch to 54 holes was a transition and an adjustment for him, perhaps more than it was for other players. There’s just such a different cadence and flow to the competition when you can’t really afford an ‘off-day’ or a bad day. It’s such a sprint, and for a player who’s in his late 20s and conditioned to playing 72-hole stroke play events, I do think that was a transition for him as well.”

Different demands since defection

There are obviously different demands when playing a LIV Golf event compared to one on the PGA Tour, with the 54-hole format obviously a factor players have to keep in mind.

But the fact that there is a team element also must impact a player’s thinking. If they are two shots back with two holes to play, but their team is winning by one, then it is not guaranteed that they are going to take the gamble which gives them an outside chance of winning the individual title.

Rahm was one of the PGA Tour’s superstars 12 months ago, while he looked set to be LIV’s biggest ever signing when he did make the move, so the responsibility of being the tour’s poster boy may have also weighed heavily on him.

Obviously, he has missed the chance to win a major in 2024, but it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season impacts how he performs in the game’s biggest events next year.