“I’m in a very high state of privilege" - When Jon Rahm said he was ‘thankful’ to the PGA Tour, just a week after PIF Framework Agreement
Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters winner, has grabbed the attention of the golf community with the emergence of rumors about him joining the Saudi-backed LIV Golf. Several outlets have claimed that Rahm's deal with the breakaway series has been finalized and that it could be announced by next week.
Last year, Rahm declined a contract offer from LIV Golf and chose to continue on the PGA Tour. When the Tour commissioner revealed the surprising merger with LIV Golf earlier this year, Rahm expressed his gratitude to the PGA Tour for letting him play golf.
Rahm said, as reported by Flushing It Golf:
"No matter what happens, thanks to the PGA Tour, they gave me an opportunity to play golf. I’m in a very high state of privilege in this world. I can only be thankful. If things change, things change, I’ll have to adapt and make some decisions.”
Rahm had a fantastic 2023 PGA Tour season, winning four events, including a Major, and ranking among the tour's top earners.
Here is the prize money Rahm won while playing on the PGA Tour in 2023:
- The American Express: $1,440,000.00
- Farmers Insurance Open: $282,750.00
- WM Phoenix Open: $1,380,000.00
- The Genesis Invitational: $3,600,000.00
- Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard: $70,028.57
- World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play: $113,761.91
- Masters Tournament: $3,240,000.00RBC Heritage: $335,000.00
- Mexico Open at Vidanta: $839,300.00
- PGA Championship: $37,625.00
- The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday: $275,500.00
- U.S. Open: $435,018.00
- The Open Championship: $1,084,625.00
- FedEx St. Jude Championship: $88,000.00
- BMW Championship: $139,000.00
However, Rahm has now been making headlines because of his reported deal with LIV Golf. According to Flushing It Golf, LIV has offered around $600 million to the Spanish golfer to compete in their series.
"We should be thankful that LIV happened" - Jon Rahm about LIV Golf
In 2022, Rahm remained on the PGA Tour even as several players joined the Saudi-backed circuit. However, Rahm refused to speak out on the issue of players leaving the PGA Tour, in contrast to the majority of Tour players who publicly chastised LIV Golf.
Ahead of the Hero World Challenge in November 2022, Rahm expressed gratitude for the existence of LIV Golf. He claimed that the PGA Tour had made several alterations to its schedule following the establishment of the Saudi circuit.
Along with introducing designated tournaments with a limited field and higher rewards, they also increased the prize money offered in the purses. According to SI, Rahm stated that these would not have been possible without the existence of LIV Golf.
“I think on this side of things we should be thankful that LIV happened. I don’t know if those changes would have happened if LIV wasn’t in the picture. So to an extent, yeah, we should be thankful," Rahm said.
Having played on the European Tour and the PGA Tour, Jon Rahm has enjoyed a successful professional career. He has won 21 competitions to date, with ten of them coming on the European Tour and eleven on the PGA Tour.
Rahm was expected to play in the newly established virtual golf series TGL but withdrew from it last month as it clashed with his schedule. This has further fuelled rumors of a potential switch to LIV Golf.