Explaining Jon Rahm’s mega money move… what it means for LIV, the PGA Tour, and the future of pro golf

Jon Rahm is the new face of LIV Golf.

After months of rumors and denials, Jon Rahm sent shockwaves through the golfing world by signing a £450 million deal to side with the Saudis. But what does LIV’s latest powerplay mean for the PGA Tour and Jay Monahan, and how will it impact the framework agreement and the future of professional golf?

All your burning questions are answered here…

What the hell is going on?

Everyone connected with the PGA Tour has probably been asking the same question. The framework agreement was supposed to bring an end to golf’s civil war, but clearly the Saudis missed the memo about acting in good faith and pulled off the biggest signing in sports history by persuading Jon Rahm to join LIV Golf and front his own team.

The Spaniard has reportedly agreed to a multi-year deal worth up to £450 million, which is almost three times as much as LIV reportedly paid for Phil Mickelson, and five times that of Brooks Koepka and Cam Smith.

Hang on, wasn’t there an agreement to not recruit players?

There was, but it lasted less than a month. The original framework agreement had a non-solicitation clause in which all sides agreed not to poach each other’s players. However, both parties rescinded that clause after a review by the US Justice Department which raised antitrust concerns.

The PGA Tour commented at the time: “While we believe the language is lawful, we also consider it unnecessary in the spirit of cooperation and because all parties are negotiating in good faith.”

How wrong they were.

What made Rahm turn his back on the PGA Tour?

We can give you 450 million reasons, but ultimately the landscape shifted on June 6. Commissioner Jay Monahan lost a whole lot of trust the moment he went behind every player’s back and struck a deal with the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Other players had been criticized and canceled for picking money over morals, but the framework agreement helped normalize everything Monahan had worked so hard to avoid.

Rahm said he felt “blindsided” and “betrayed” by the whole arrangement, so in that respect you can hardly blame him for wanting to stick two fingers up at the establishment, especially when LIV were offering astronomical sums to set his family up for generations and to break out of the shadow of Rory and Tiger.

“I think the innovation in LIV golf is what pushed me over to at least give it a chance and hear the pitch out,” said Rahm. “I believe in the growth of the game of golf. I’ve largely spoken about how Seve improved the game of golf in Spain and I’ve always said how I would like to do the same thing over there. And if I can reach a bigger audience, it would be amazing. And I do believe this process will help me do that.”

How significant is Rahm’s defection?

Very. The PGA and DP World Tours have just been stripped of one of their biggest assets, a player who is at the peak of his powers and the reigning Masters champion.

Holding onto Tiger and Rory means the PGA Tour are still the dominant force in golf, but losing yet another big personality waters down their product even more and sends a clear message that LIV will charge forward if talks between the PGA Tour and PIF break down. It’s the ultimate power play.

What does this do to Rahm’s reputation?

He won’t receive nearly as much heat as other LIV defectors because of the PGA Tour’s about-face, but there will be criticism for replacing Monahan as golf’s biggest hypocrite.

For the last two years he made a point of telling us he was going nowhere. “Another $400 million is not going to change my life,” he said, before asking LIV for more.

Of course, he is not the first player to say one thing and do another, but he fooled everyone into thinking he actually cared about history, tradition and legacy. Nothing he says now carries the same weight.

What has Rahm previously said about LIV and the PGA Tour?

FEBRUARY 2022

“I wanted to take this time to say that this is my official, my one and only time to talk about this, where I am officially declaring my fealty to the PGA Tour. I’m a PAC [Player Advisory Council] member and I have a lot of belief in Jay Monahan and the product.”

JUNE 2022

“To be honest, part of the (LIV) format is not really appealing to me. Shotgun three days to me is not a golf tournament, no cut. I want to play against the best in the world in a format that’s been going on for hundreds of years..”

JUNE 2022

“Will our lifestyle change if I got $400 million? No, it will not change one bit. Truth be told, I could retire right now with what I’ve made and live a very happy life and not play golf again. So I’ve never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons.

“I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world. I’ve always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour has that.”

NOVEMBER 2022

“(Money is) not why I started playing, it’s not the reason why I play. So when I’m doing my schedule, money is not really on my mind. If it was, I probably might have gone to LIV, right? If money is your goal, that’s clearly the path to go down. Every decision I make when it comes to golf is to become the best player I can become.”

JUNE 2023

“I think the general feeling is that a lot of people feel a bit of betrayal from management. I understand why they had to keep it so secret. It’s just not easy as a player that’s been involved, like many others, to wake up one day and see this bombshell. That’s why we’re all in a state of limbo because we don’t know what’s going on and how much is finalized and how much they can talk about, either.”

JULY 2023

“We all had the chance to go to LIV and take the money and we chose to stay at the PGA Tour for whatever reason we chose. As I’ve said before, I already make an amazing living doing what I do. I’m extremely thankful, and that all happened because of the platform the PGA Tour provided me.

“As far as I’m concerned, they’ve done enough for me, and their focus should be on improving the PGA Tour and the game of golf for the future generations.”

AUGUST 2023

“I laugh when people rumor me with LIV Golf. I’ve never liked the format. And I always have a good time with Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia in the practice rounds of Majors.”

Will this affect Rahm’s chances of playing in the Ryder Cup?

Qualification doesn’t start for another nine months, but there’s no chance Luke Donald is taking on the USA at Bethpage in 2025 without Jon Rahm. He’s too important.

In any case, Rahm is still eligible to play in the next contest because he was made an honorary life member of the DP World Tour back in 2022. Only players who have resigned their memberships, like Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, are ineligible for selection but Rahm has made it clear he wishes to retain playing rights on the European circuit.

Whether he gets his wish is up to Keith Pelley, but Monahan has already suspended him indefinitely from the PGA Tour and removed his name from the FedEx Cup eligibility list.

Can Rahm still compete in the Majors?

As a recipient of a Green Jacket, he can play the Masters for life. His 2021 US Open victory win gets him into that Major through 2031, and he has four more years of exemptions into the PGA Championship and Open Championship.

What does Rahm give LIV?

Besides possessing three of the last five Major winners, how about legitimacy and serious bargaining power in negotiations?

There were concerns that the PGA Tour were about to walk away from the proposed framework deal, but Rahm’s noisy departure – and rumors of another mass exodus – have almost certainly forced Monahan back to the negotiating table with the PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, which is probably what the Saudis wanted all along.

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

How can LIV keep on spending?

The answer lies somewhere inside the $620 billion fund which LIV have access to. Unlike other sports, golf isn’t bound by any financial rules or restrictions, so the Saudis can spend what they want to finance their own sportswashing operation.

Greg Norman says they want to see a return on their investment, but we already know from LIV’s lawyers that they made ‘virtually zero’ revenue in the first season after spending around $800 million. That figure is closer to double now.

Is the framework agreement still happening?

Despite LIV’s best efforts to disrupt the peace, it feels inevitable that we are heading towards a marriage of convenience. There’s too much at stake for both parties and we already know the PGA Tour does not have the resources to fight back, otherwise they would have done so as soon as Rahm bolted for the exit.

Instead, they released a statement three days later to reveal that talks continue to progress with the PIF.

“We also anticipate advancing our negotiations with PIF in the weeks to come,” the memo stated. “Further, the DP World Tour will continue to be an important part of the process as we build toward PGA Tour Enterprises.”

So, where do Liverpool’s owners come into it?

The PGA Tour are currently locked in negotiations with Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a new consortium led by Fenway Sports Group who own Liverpool FC, to become co-investors in the new PGA Tour Enterprises.

Notable members of the group include Arthur Blank (owner of the Atlanta Falcons) and Steve Cohen (New York Mets), who are also team owners in the TGL golf league and have shown a willingness to work with the Saudis in the past. Read into that what you will.

Does that mean Tiger Woods is calling the shots now?

Tiger welds a lot of influence, though not nearly as much as Patrick Cantlay, who has reportedly seized control of negotiations with the PIF and formed an alliance with Tiger and Jordan Spieth on the Tour’s policy board.

Spieth denies this is the case, but that hasn’t stopped lawyers representing 20 members – including Danny Willett – from writing to the Policy Board to demand “full disclosure” on the tour’s dealings with prospective private equity partners. The letter claims they have been kept in the dark about the prospective transaction with SSG.

Where does this leave the PGA Tour?

In a far weaker position than they were six months ago. The PGA Tour still hold a degree of leverage, including the sponsors and TV exposure which LIV crave, but Rahm’s complete 180 is the clearest indication yet that the Saudis will do whatever it takes to get what they want, which is a seat at golf’s top table.

In a memo sent to players several months ago, Monahan admitted that they can’t compete with the unlimited resources of a foreign government, which was his reason for trying to partner with the Saudis in the first place.

The Tour have already dipped into its cash reserves to match the purses being offered by LIV, plus they just lost Wells Fargo as a sponsor for next year, ending a 22-year association with the Tour.

To make matters worse, Monahan is currently dealing with another batch of disgruntled rank-and-file members, who launched a petition requesting a special meeting with the leadership group to air their grievances. We understand this relates to recent changes to bonuses and signature events, which have been seen to create a two-tier system that benefits the better player.

What does this mean for Monahan’s future?

Speaking days before Rahm’s departure, Monahan declared that he’s still “the best leader for the PGA Tour”, but it may not be up to him. He’s already p*ssed off the entire membership by selling out to the Saudis and we shouldn’t forget that he left two of his deputies to deal with the mess he made when he took six weeks off due to anxiety caused by the secretive nature of his actions.

He may well be acting in the best interests of the Tour, but it feels increasingly like he has outstayed his welcome. Few of the players we’ve spoken to would be sad to see him go.

How many players will now follow Rahm out the door?

We could give you a dozen names from the rumor mill. Currently, there are at least five spots vacant on LIV’s roster now Bernd Wiesberger has returned to the DP World Tour, though there is scope for LIV to add a 14th and 15th team and keep the shotgun format.

Tony Finau, a close friend of Rahm’s, had been in talks about making the jump, but he ended speculation by pledging his allegiance to the PGA Tour on Instagram.

What can we expect from LIV’s third season?

New teams. New courses. And lots of chatter about the World Rankings not being fit for purpose. As things stand, there are 13 LIV players who can use an exemption to play in at least one Major championship in 2024, but only Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, DJ and Mickelson are eligible for all of them.

Everyone else will need to go through Qualifying to play in two of the four championships which are open.

Are they still sticking with the same format?

Rahm’s dislike of the 54-hole, no-cut format has led to suggestions from last year’s winner Talor Gooch that revisions are incoming, but so far little has changed apart from the teams, which have been at the mercy of a transfer merry-go-round.

Jediah Morgan, Chase Koepka, James Piot and Sihwan Kim were relegated at the end of last season and have since been replaced by Andy Ogletree and the trio of Kalle Samooja, Jinichiro Kozuma and Kieran Vincent, who were the top three finishers at the LIV Promotions event.

Brooks Koepka pulled off the biggest (and most lopsided) trade in LIV history by recruiting Gooch from Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats and sending Matt Wolff in the opposite direction after their public fallout. Other notable deals include Harold Varner III moving to Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces, in exchange for Peter Uihlein, and Graeme McDowell signing for Smash and replacing Koepka’s younger brother, Chase.

How is the LIV roster shaping up?

4Aces – Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, Harold Varner III
Cleeks – Martin Kaymar, Richard Bland
Crushers – Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri
Fireballs – Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Eugenio Chacarra, David Puig
HyFlyers – Phil Mickelson, Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale
Iron Heads – Kevin Na, Danny Lee, Scott Vincent
Majesticks – Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Sam Horsfield
RangeGoats – Bubba Watson, Peter Uihlein, Matthew Wolff, Thomas Pieters
Ripper – Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman
Smash – Brooks Koepka, Talor Gooch, Jason Kokrak, Graeme McDowell
Stinger – Louis Oosthuizen, Dean Burmester, Brandon Grace, Charl Schwartzel
Torque – Joaquin Niemann, Sebastian Munoz, Mito Pereira, Carlos Ortiz

When does the new season begin?

Rahm’s debut is penciled in for February 2 when LIV returns to Mexico at a former PGA Tour stop. All players will compete 14 times during a seven-month stretch, with three of those dates competing directly against signature events.

At least seven tournaments will be held outside of America, though it is anticipated that the Individual and Team Championships will take place in Chicago and Dallas respectively. Centurion has been ditched in favor of JCB Golf & Country Club in Staffordshire as the UK tour stop, which is sandwiched between the Olympics and The Open at the end of July.

New events are also set to debut in Hong Kong, South Korea and Las Vegas, which will stage LIV’s second leg in the same week the Super Bowl heads to the city.

LIV Golf Schedule 2024

February 2-4 Mayakoba | El Cameleon CC
February 8-10 Las Vegas | Las Vegas CC
March 1-3 Saudi Arabia | TBD
March 8-10 Hong Kong | Hong Kong GC
April 5-7 USA | TBC
April 26-28 Adelaide | The Grange GC
May 3-5 Singapore | The Serapong GC
June 7-9 Houston | The Golf Club of Houston
June 21-23 Nashville | The Grove GC
July 12-14 Andalucía | Real Club Valderrama
July 26-28 UK: Staffordshire | JCB G&CC
August 16-18 LIV Greenbrier | The Old White Course at the Greenbrier
September (TBC) LIV Golf Individual Championships
September TBC LIV Golf Team Championships

How can I watch LIV Golf?

Fans in over 180 countries, including the UK, can watch live or on-demand coverage on the free LIV Golf Plus app, which is now available on mobile and Roku and Samsung Smart TVs.

For American viewers, The CW Network retains exclusive rights for LIV Golf events and will air all weekend rounds on its linear and digital channels, with Friday rounds carried on The CW app.

About the author

Michael Catling – Features Editor

Michael Catling is an award-winning journalist who specializes in golf’s Majors and Tours, including DP World, PGA, LPGA, and LIV.

Michael joined Today’s Golfer in 2016 and has traveled the world to attend the game’s biggest events and secure exclusive interviews with the game’s biggest names, including Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Martin Slumbers and Justin Thomas.

Get in touch with Michael via email and follow him on X.