“His decision doesn't affect me” - Rickie Fowler reveals take on Jon Rahm’s LIV Golf move after the Grant Thornton Invitational
Rickie Fowler says that Jon Rahm's recent decision to move to LIV Golf doesn't affect him. However, it will be interesting to see how things unfold in the coming weeks with the PGA Tour-PIF framework agreement deadline coming close.
Last week, Rahm confirmed his switch to the PIF-sponsored league, putting all the previous rumors to bed. Fowler was at the Tiburon Golf Club for the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational, where he and Lexi Thompson finished T6 at 22-under.
During the post-round interview for the first round of the Grant Thornton Invitational on Thursday, Fowler was asked about his take on Rahm's switch to LIV. While he said that he didn't have much information about the latest development, he went on to share his perspective. He said:
"His decision doesn't affect me necessarily, but it'll be interesting to see how things continue to play out. Timelines of things with the deal deadline being the end of the year, it's hard to really think that goes through just with the timing of it and how much would have to get done between now and then.
"Ultimately down the road, division isn't a good thing. I'm hopeful things will continue to work in the right direction for the greater of the game. But what that is, I don't know. I wish I could tell you. We're kind of all on this ride together and kind of figuring out and learning as we go."
Jason Day, the winner of the Grant Thornton Invitational, previously mentioned that it was pretty difficult to say no to the offer of that much money.
"I don't know what the number is, but it's somewhere in that ballpark. If someone offered you that much, you'd play on Mars, you know what I mean?" Day was quoted as saying via CBS Sports.
Day and his partner Lydia Ko carded 6-under 66 in an alternate fourball round on Sunday at the Grant Thornton Invitational to aggregate at 26-under. Both beat the duo of Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners by a one-stroke difference.
How was the 2022-23 season for Rickie Fowler?
At the start of this year, Rickie Fowler was ranked No. 103 in the Original World Golf Rankings and was on the verge of losing his PGA Tour membership. Last season, he made just three top-25 finishes in 22 starts and failed to make the weekend of nine events. However, this year, he turned everything around and was back to his best once again.
In the 2022-23 season, Fowler missed just two cuts in 26 starts and was able to make 18 top-25 finishes. He failed to qualify for the Masters Tournament but was able to finish in T5 at the US Open and T23 at the Open Championship. He also broke his 1610-day winning drought on the PGA Tour after triumphing at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Fowler finished T16 in the FedEx Cup and is currently 24th in the OWGR. He also finished in the top 10 of the highest earners this season, with total earnings crossing $15.3 million.