As the rumours of a potential Jon Rahm move to LIV continue to rumble on, Jordan Spieth, the man who’s replacing Rory McIlroy as a Policy Board Player Director has declared that were the PGA Tour to lose Rahm, it would be a huge blow for the Tour.
“I’m not sure specifically how it would impact those negotiations,” he said when asked about the potential disruption to the proposed PGA and DP World Tour and PIF merger, but all in all, Jon Rahm is one of the biggest assets that we have on the PGA Tour. So it would be a really — really not very good for us in general because we want to play against the best players in the world and that’s what Jon is.
“I know there’s been some guys that have talked to him. I know he’s maybe weighing some decisions, maybe not. I really don’t know, so I don’t want to insult him and say he’s weighing decisions if he already knows he’s not or he is. You know, that’s somewhat out of my control in a way.
“Obviously I could speak probably on behalf of 200-plus PGA Tour players in saying that we really hope that he’s continuing with us.”
Spieth is the first player to go on record and confirm that Rahm was, once at the very least, considering the switch, and the question as to who else may be in negotiations with the Saudi-backed league is likely to linger over the golfing world between now and the end of the year at the very least.
He was careful to point out that he was in the dark as to whether any decisions had been made, but he reiterated his stance that the PGA Tour remains the best place for players to play in the most competitive environment.
“You know,” he said, “I think for me, if it were me, and I don’t even know if I ever got an offer, but I like the way that I play four rounds of stroke play the same way we play the majors. I believe that we’re playing against the best players in the world, and it’s what I’ve always wanted to do is to play out here and try and catch PGA Tour wins, catch the legends of the game. It’s a history thing and the money’s a bonus.”
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