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Why’d Jon Rahm leave for LIV? The answer’s simpler than you’d think
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WHY’D JON RAHM LEAVE FOR LIV? THE ANSWER’S SIMPLER THAN YOU’D THINK

By: Dylan Dethier December 9, 2023
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Jon Rahm's departure for LIV sent a shockwave through the golf world.

LIV

In the days since Jon Rahm’s momentous LIV announcement, the golf world has
tried to make sense of his decision.

This conjecture actually began in the days and weeks before his departure.
Persistent rumors coupled with Rahm’s silence to produce an information vacuum,
and there’s no better place for speculation to thrive. Surely Rahm must be
plotting a chess move, or this was some sort of Trojan Horse, or perhaps a
complex play at reunification?

It was somewhat jarring, then, to face the reality of Rahm’s explanation. Given
his past opposition to LIV and his dismissal of its format and “meh” reaction to
the idea of $400 million, we expected something momentous to accompany Rahm’s
about-face. But in his introductory press appearances, he trotted out a
remarkably familiar set of LIV-related talking points.

The move, he said, was “best for me and my family.” He said the team aspect was
“absolutely key.” He said he likes the LIV product and the business. He said his
decision had nothing to do with Phil Mickelson nor Sergio Garcia. He said he’d
received no assurances about the Ryder Cup nor guarantees about a deal. He used
the phrase “growing the game” once, twice, thrice. And he quickly aligned
himself with Saudi Arabia’s ongoing sports investment.

“I can’t really speak on what their plan is for all this and their future, but
clearly they’re trying to create a positive impact in sports,” he said. “And,
you know, I’m happy that in a small way, I can maybe help with that.”



The controlled comments presented a striking contrast to Rahm’s usual
appearances. One hallmark of Rahm’s press conferences has become a pause
followed by the phrase, “I wouldn’t know what else to say about that,” which
would generally precede a thoughtful, honest, lengthy answer that would reveal
he did in fact have more to say about the subject at hand. This time it was the
opposite: he knew what he wanted to say and he knew he didn’t want to say too
much. Understandably, Rahm was careful and guarded, given the sensitivity of the
situation. It was just a reminder of how things have changed.


RAHM’S DEPARTURE: WHEN AND WHY?

We got more details on the when and the why during Rahm’s appearance on ESPN’s
Pat McAfee Show on Friday morning. He was more at ease in a friendly environment
(McAfee called the decision “honorable, incredible and inspiring”) and laid out
the timeline from his perspective.

“I had my agent under strict instructions: Until you think this is a really good
idea for me, don’t bring it up,” Rahm explained. “So I do believe they were
talking to [LIV] since the beginning of LIV Golf, they just never brought it up
to me.”

That makes sense, given Rahm shares an agency with LIV founding member Phil
Mickelson. As to what made it a “really good idea?”

“This year we thought it was good timing, with winning a major, being exempt to
the majors, having made quite a bigger name for myself with the golf I’ve played
through the last few years, we thought it was good timing and that’s when they
brought it up to me. The landscape of golf is ever-changing right now,
especially the last few years. And after seeing LIV Golf in action and seeing
what they have to offer, and being part of a team is so nice — then it became a
possibility.”

While Rahm was careful not to blame the PGA Tour’s ongoing turbulence for his
departure, that reference to the “ever-changing” golf landscape was probably a
hint. Things may look different now had the framework agreement of June 6th been
constructed and communicated differently. The PGA Tour seeking partnership with
the PIF lowered the threshold for players to do the same.

That was the lens through which Rory McIlroy viewed the move.

“The landscape of golf changed on June 6th,” he told Sky Sports. “This framework
agreement legitimized, basically, what LIV was trying to do.”

Money was, of course, the determining factor.

“Obviously the money is very very nice, I’m not gonna give you the whole spiel,”
Rahm said. “I don’t play golf for money but as a father, as a husband, as a
family man I do owe it to my family to set them up the best I can and luckily I
have that possibility, so yeah. That was a big part of it.”

In other words, for as different as Rahm’s departure seems in terms of timing
and circumstance, the decision itself was a case of simple business
fundamentals. Timing, leverage and money. The timing was perfect; his Masters
victory means he’ll play Augusta for the rest of his career and have exemptions
into five years of majors, while leaving shortly after the Ryder Cup means the
golf world has two years to sort out how to get him on the next European team.
(“If there was someone who was a good candidate, it’d probably be him,” Jason
Day told SI.) His leverage was elevated by that Masters victory; LIV loves
collecting green jackets and Rahm’s camp would have known the defending champion
can demand a premium. After that, it was just a matter of hammering out the
details and LIV ponying up the dollars to make it worth his while.

“They really went put me in a position where I had to think about it, and I
did,” Rahm said.

There’s more at play here, of course. There’s a team of pros Rahm is helping to
assemble; additional signees are expected to follow in his wake. Rahm also
negotiated directly with LIV’s higher-ups, so he should be well aware of what’s
at play. But to take Rahm at his word, he wasn’t masterminding anything larger
for the golf world. The reasons for him to leave just finally outnumbered the
reasons not to.


EDITOR’S PICKS

GARY MCCORD DISHES ON FUTURE OF GOLF, PGA TOUR

LIV’S STIGMA IS FADING. BUT ANOTHER INCONVENIENT TRUTH PERSISTS

HOW PING’S MARTY JERTSON TURNED INTO A ROCKSTAR IN THE GEAR SPACE

JON RAHM EXPLAINS EXPLOSIVE LIV DECISION

“It seems like this decision was made completely independent of whatever
negotiations might be happening,” one reporter asked on Thursday. “Is that
correct?”

“That is correct,” Rahm said. “I I’ve tried to figure out the words I can think
about in Spanish — I’ve made myself not absent, but separated myself from those
negotiations.”

But even if Rahm isn’t the one doing it, there is bigger-picture masterminding
going on. Rahm’s move has significant implications for the ongoing deal between
the PGA Tour and the Saudi PIF; the Saudis now have increased leverage and Rahm
is a well-paid pawn in their ongoing chess match or, as Justin Rose called it, a
jigsaw puzzle. His signing is both a negotiating tactic and a threat of what
could follow.

“It’s a really nice play by them,” Jordan Spieth conceded to the AP on Saturday.
“I think we hold the best hand, but they know what our hand is. It’s a nice
leveraging tool with everything going on.”

Rahm seems content with that role. Even though his departure weakened the PGA
Tour’s position, there was nothing divisive whatsoever about his remarks; he
clearly has no interest in being part of a turf war. He went out of his way to
say he wasn’t frustrated with the PGA Tour’s direction. He thanked Tiger Woods,
Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay for their work in governance. He said if it’s
up to him he’ll keep status on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Whether that’s an
actual possibility remains to be seen.

Rahm has always been an obsessive student of golf history and values his place
within it. In part Thursday’s announcement seemed to signal a departure from his
childhood dreams — dreams we’d assumed weren’t for sale. But in reality, Rahm
can still likely chase all the major championships and Ryder Cups that his golf
game allows. Plus there’s the possibility that this will help trigger a
reunification after all; Rahm may yet be able to have his cake and eat it, too.

Time will tell who joins him.

Dylan (cautiously) welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.


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DYLAN DETHIER

Golf.com Editor



Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com. The Williamstown,
Mass. native joined GOLF in 2017 after two years scuffling on the mini-tours.
Dethier is a graduate of Williams College, where he majored in English, and he’s
the author of 18 in America, which details the year he spent as an 18-year-old
living from his car and playing a round of golf in every state.



 * Author Twitter Account
 * Author Instagram Account


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