Former coach to Tiger Woods, Butch Harmon, believes Jon Rahm’s controversial move to LIV Golf might be the catalyst to bring harmony back to the game of golf.
After weeks of speculation, Rahm put pen to paper on a deal worth up to $600 million which makes him the highest paid athlete in the world of sport.
Harmon admits Rahm’s move is a coup for the Saudi backed tour and has significantly damaged the PGA Tour but he also feels that significant damage caused might be the trigger to ensure the best golfers in the world play in the same field on a regular basis.
“I think the more you see some of these players defect to the LIV tournament, it’s going to make it easier for everyone to get back together again,” Harmon told Sky Sports. “This may be the start of making that happen.
“I think they’re going to have to push to get the PGA Tour together with LIV, and the DP World Tour, get them to talk and try to figure out a way for them to all live happily together.
“You may see LIV continuing to live the way they are, or you might see someone from the European tour and the American tour to be able to go back and forth and play one of each.
“They’ve said all along that will never happen but what happened [with Rahm] is going to bring this closer to fruition and get them all to the same events at the same time. And that’s all we want as fans.”
Harmon also feels Rahm’s move could pave the way fore major departures from the PGA Tour.
“The PGA Tour has had problems financially. I think that’s one of the reasons they had to get away from the litigation they were having with the Saudi-backed tour.
“They were losing a lot of money that way, and they had to increase their prize money.”
He added: “This is a great coup for LIV, getting, in my opinion, the best player in the world, a marquee name everywhere in the world.
“And, from what I understand from friends of mine that I know on the tour, there are others that are now seriously thinking about going over there.”
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