Jon Rahm hit the headlines during LIV Golf Greenbrier – and it wasn’t due to how he performed on the course.
A bombshell claim from Golf Digest’s Jaime Diaz suggested Rahm is desperate to return to the PGA Tour and give the PIF their $500 million back.
Greg Norman quickly shut down talk of Rahm quitting LIV and suggested the report was laughable at best. “I read an article yesterday about how Jon is so unhappy here [LIV Golf] and that he wants to give back his money. It’s just not true,” Norman said.
“You speak to Jon’s general manager, it’s like laughable. I just truly don’t get it. I truly don’t get the divide.”
Now, Diaz – the brains behind the story – has spoken out.
Jaime Diaz explains Jon Rahm LIV Golf exit article
Speaking to the Golf Channel on Tuesday, Diaz explained why he decided to publish the article and shed a little more light on the sources of his information.
“That was an informed opinion – the source of my story – and it wasn’t an isolated one that he expressed,” the Golf Digest journalist explained.
“Jon has always been known as a passionate player who is very aware of history and wanted to be great and wants to beat the best players and he still thrives on that. He’s played okay on LIV. He’s won once; he’s always in the top ten. I don’t think top ten on LIV is considered a great measure of somebody’s great performance.”
Diaz went on to suggest the piece was speculative and based on comments Rahm has previously made about the breakaway tour.
“I think it’s speculative, but considering his early comments about defending his titles from last year earlier in the season, he said that,” Diaz added. He said he wished LIV would go to the 72 holes and he also said that he was hoping for a merger.
“And now that’s not happening in the timeframe we expected it to, it’s reasonable to think he’s sorry that’s not happening.”
Golf Channel pundit defends Jaime Diaz’s Jon Rahm story
Diaz is one of the most respected journalists in the sport, which means that he stands by anything he wrote in the article.
And Golf Channel pundit Ryan Lavner displayed his full-blooded support for his colleague on Monday evening.
“First of all, a defence of Jaime Diaz, who is painstaking as it comes to his reporting and his writing,” Lavner said. “He’s not putting it out there to simply drum up controversy. That is what he is reporting. He is as nuanced as they come.”
Despite Diaz admitting there was some speculation involved, it’s hard to disagree with the premise of his statement. Rahm’s previous comments and overall demeanour don’t represent someone who is completely comfortable in their surroundings.
Of course, a PGA Tour return is highly unlikely, but the fact that Rahm hasn’t denied the claims is extremely telling.
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