The departure of the Spanish Jon Rahm from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf has shaken the world of golf like an earthquake, which in the last two years has experienced the emergence of this controversial Saudi tour in an intense and often traumatic way.
LIV Golf started in 2022 with the intention of rivaling the PGA Tour in quality and prestige. Your main asset? The gigantic financial muscle of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, which tempted golfers to change sides with many zeros in the bank account.
An example of the monstrous amount of money that LIV Golf manages was that two golfers from the new tour: Dustin Johnson in sixth position with 107 million dollars and Phil Mickelson in seventh place with 106 million.
Another example is that LIV Golf promised 3.71 million euros this year for the winner of one of its tournaments and 2.78 million for the winning team. As a comparison, Rahm, who was proclaimed winner of the legendary Augusta Masters this year, 'only' took 3 million for wearing the green jacket.
The one from Barrika, according to media reports not officially confirmed by LIV Golf, would have accepted an offer of about 500 million dollars (about 463 million euros) to go to the Saudi tour, which places him with one of the sports contracts largest in history.
Aside from money, the team competition is one of the novelties that LIV Golf has introduced on the course. Another important aspect is that each tournament is played in three rounds and without a weekend cut, a no small note since, by appearing, a golfer wins at least $120,000.
LIV Golf is played on different courses around the world. The 2024 calendar, recently presented, has 12 events and will begin on February 2 with a tournament at El Camaleón Golf Course in Playa del Carmen (Mexico).
There will also be five stops in the United States, in cities such as Las Vegas or Houston, as well as events in Spain (Real Club Valderrama in Andalusia), Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom and, of course, Saudi Arabia. After these 12 events, the individual and team championships will be held on two other weekends, both still without a confirmed location.
Talor Gooch was the individual winner in the 2023 season while the Crushers GC, with Bryson DeChambeau as captain, were champions in the team competition. Apart from those already mentioned, other notable names in LIV Golf are major winners Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer, among others.
Rahm, who will be captain of his own team, will also meet an illustrious compatriot: Sergio García. Also competing in the LIV Golf are the Spaniards Eugenio López Chacarra and David Puig and several Hispanics such as the Mexicans Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz, the Colombian Sebastián Muñoz and the Chileans Joaquín Niemann and Mito Pereira.
In any case, it is not all gold that glitters in LIV Golf, which, for example, has been unable to obtain media exposure or sporting impact at the level of such an investment. Furthermore, their triumphs do not count towards the world golf rankings and their tournaments lack the tradition and historical component that some of the PGA Tour events assume.
With all this, the appearance of LIV Golf separated the world of golf into two camps in a totally dramatic way and the PGA Tour sanctioned the 'deserters' and confronted the Saudi tour in the courts and the media. The US-based circuit received complaints of monopoly while LIV Golf was accused of being just a smokescreen to hide human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.
Stars like Tiger Woods (who was offered between 700 and 800 million to go to LIV Golf) and Rory McIlroy were radically opposed to the new winds coming from the desert while Rahm, perhaps with less vehemence, also placed himself in the trenches of the 'faithful' to the PGA Tour.
"Would my family's lifestyle change if I won 400 million? No, I wouldn't change anything at all," Rahm said in 2022. "The truth is, I could retire right now and I could have a very happy life without playing again. "I never played golf for economic reasons. I play for my love of this sport and I want to play against the best in the world. I have always been interested in the history and legacy of golf and right now the PGA Tour has that," he argued then.
The last turn in this roller coaster between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour was the absolutely unexpected announcement in June of an agreement in principle - also with the DP World Tour - to bury their war and unify golf on a global scale.
That approach, managed under the utmost secrecy and without the knowledge of the PGA Tour players, included the creation of a new entity, the management of a joint calendar, the closing of all pending legal cases and the intention that the players of the LIV Golf could recover their affiliation to the 'traditional' circuits. However, not everything has been said in this marriage of convenience, since the deadline to execute this agreement is December 31 and negotiations have not yet been closed.
