The exercise of assessing cowardice among those who are willing to serve autocratic sportswashers is hollow. But some players who chose to go to LIV Golf at the cost of their reputations and careers must now consider Jon Rahm to be the most gullible of them all, a golden parachute who took the riskiest route for the biggest reward, believing that the promised settlement in golf’s civil conflict would ensure him a lucrative, soft landing.
The announcement on Thursday was predictable. Even LIV’s gaffe of announcing its recruitment of John, despite his stated desire to provide for the future generations of the family, as well as the attraction of innovative formats, and the overwhelming ambition to expand the game, Rahm ticked all the boxes in the bullshit that surrounds every LIV signing.
But he is different from any predecessor.
The goal of poaching Rahm was not to strengthen LIV but rather to weaken the PGA Tour. Yasir al-Rumayyan is the chief bagman for the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which finances LIV. He delivered a timely elbow in the ribs as the Tour negotiated the extent to how PIF would factor in with private equity when shaping the Tour’s future. Rahm’s rejection of LIV was so vociferous that it devalued its format and value.
Al-Rumayyan is able to buy anyone. Members of the tour who thought he was an unpalatable enemy were reminded that it could be worse.
LIV has repeatedly exposed the fatal flaw in professional golf. It’s built on membership organizations, whose members often aren’t loyal and not contractually bound. Cash offers can go a long ways when the target constituency has proven their word is worth less than a puddle stale poop.
Rahm will not suffer the excommunication or scorn from his former Tour colleagues that other LIV athletes experienced. He is too popular, too well-liked and his end is near. Rory McIlroy said that the Ryder Cup rules for ’25 would have to be changed to accommodate Rahm, but he did not make this call on behalf of Sergio Garcia.
Rahm’s departure is a greater loss for the PGA Tour rather than a positive for LIV. For the foreseeable future, one of the best golfers in the world will not be attending Tour events. It’s questionable whether he has a positive impact on LIV, beyond being a propaganda tool for trolls or a deal-making lever for Al-Rumayyan. It’s reasonable to say that Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka were better at engaging fans and gaining LIV audiences than Rahm. The Spaniard’s leap could have a greater impact on the internal debate of the Tour than the future of LIV.
Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, both of Spain, walk the second green during a practice session prior to the U.S. Open 2022 at The Country Club in Brookline Massachusetts on June 13, 2020. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images).
The PGA Tour is not to blame for Rahm’s actions. Rahm’s not a LIV player just because his check was big enough. The Tour has signaled that it’s okay to play in Saudi Arabia and do business. The Framework Agreement of June 6, 2006, did two things which made for a bad combination. It destroyed all trust between PGA Tour members and leaders, and it legitimized Saudi hijacking, giving players a green-light to test LIV. It would have been as if the Tour had rolled out red carpets and pointed them in the direction of exit. The players will not be held accountable for a loyalty standard that the Tour has failed to meet.
Rahm’s departure shouldn’t come as a shock. LIV is most likely to appeal to players who have already been guaranteed a place in majors and are not concerned with world ranking or qualification criteria. Why not Wyndham-Clark too? Or Brian Harman. What other risks are they facing if recent major champions do not have ethical objections against LIV? The Framework Agreement is a permission slip.
The player directors, who make decisions on the Tour Policy Board, are in for a tough time. Will they conclude that a flawed peace with Saudi Arabia is the best option or will Rahm’s poaching of PIF harden sentiments against PIF in those who did not cash out? No matter which direction they choose, there will be choppy seas.
The PGA Tour is stumbling towards a business model which cannot be sustained because too many players believe their value is a multiplier of any market’s ever stated. The irrational Saudi spending and PGA Tour expectations are inextricably linked. Some players believe they are entitled to NBA and NFL money, and in an inversion of the golf economics, they want to earn that money on the golf course and not off the course.
Wells Fargo also left the PGA Tour less than 24 hours after Rahm. The bank refused to pay the amount now required of sponsors in order to meet player expectations. Tour players should be more concerned about the departure of a longtime golf sponsor who wanted to stay in the game than Rahm’s loss. It is a sign of great concern that the PGA Tour has become a consuming entity because greed masquerades as value.
