For golf’s traditionalists, the words of Jon Rahm will restore faith in the modern player, if not the future of the game.
As the fallout from the first Saudi-backed LIV Golf series tournament continues, the Spaniard, who’s long been a student of the game as he looks to emulate his hero, Seve Ballesteros, explained the things that get him up out of bed in the morning, and unsurprisingly for a true competitor, 54-hole no cut events are not it.
“I consider the PGA Tour has done an amazing job giving us the best platform for us to perform,” Rahm said ahead of Thursday’s starting U.S. Open at Brookline.
Shame this man won’t be at the Irish Open pic.twitter.com/3x80CKdOdU
— John Craven (@Ace_Craven) June 14, 2022
“I do see the appeal that other people see towards the LIV Golf. I do see some of the — I’ll put this delicately — points or arguments they can make towards why they prefer it.
“[But] To be honest, part of the format is not really appealing to me. Shotgun three days to me is not a golf tournament, no cut. It’s that simple.
“I want to play against the best in the world in a format that’s been going on for hundreds of years. That’s what I want to see. Yeah, money is great, but when this first happened, Kelley [wife] and I, we started talking about it, and we’re like, ‘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. There’s meaning when you win the Memorial Championship. There’s meaning when you win Arnold Palmer’s event at Bay Hill. There’s a meaning when you win, LA, Torrey, some of the historic venues.
“That to me matters a lot, right. After winning this past U.S. Open, only me and Tiger have won at Torrey Pines, and it’s a golf course that we like, making putts on the 18th hole. That’s a memory I’m going to have forever that not many people can say.
“My heart is with the PGA Tour. That’s all I can say. It’s not my business or my character to judge anybody who thinks otherwise. For a lot of people, I’m not going to lie, those next three, four years are worth basically their retirement plan they’re giving them. It’s a very nice compensation to then retire and sail off into the sunset.
“If that’s what you want, that’s fine.”
Leave a comment