“We have to save the game": Golf journalist shares his take on Jon Rahm’s reported $566,000,000 LIV switch
Jon Rahm's departure for LIV Golf has one golf journalist lamenting the downfall of the sport. While Jason Sobel made plain that Rahm's defection isn't the biggest issue, it is the latest in a growing number of issues that now plague the sport.
From Sobel's perspective, all of golf is tarnished. Whether it's players leaving or tours changing to get players more money, the journalist believes damage has been done to the sport.
Sobel said while talking to SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio:
"This is as angry, as upset, as discouraged as I've ever been about the professional game right now. It's not just about Jon Rahm going to LIV, we get that, but that's sort of the tipping point. It's everybody, both sides, executives, players, agents, managers, everybody. It's greed, it's selfishness, it's arrogance on both sides. Everyone's to blame."
Sobel continued, adding that the game's been fine for almost a century until now:
"All these guys have essentially taken a wrecking ball to the entire thing and tried to destroy it, all in pursuit of the almighty dollar. I love money, we all love money, everybody deserves an opportunity to make the most money they can. But I hope these people realize the irrevocable damage that they've done."
Sobel finished by saying that golf's fans are fed up and he can't blame them. While it's not just about Rahm's exit, it's all coming to a head with that:
"Fans are gone, fans are leaving in droves... I feel the same way... This is not just Jon Rahm's leaving for LIV and I'm sad about it... It's about the inability for anyone... to say, 'We can't be doing this, we have to save the game.'... It's sad, it's ugly, and I'm really dismayed and discouraged right now."
Rahm leaving the PGA Tour for a reported $566 million (reports state between $500 and $600 million, with The Telegraph reporting $566 million) is not a surprise. That's an astonishing amount of money that is difficult for anyone to turn down.
Nevertheless, it's the latest blow to a sport once considered full of gentlemen, and journalist Jason Sobel believes that sport is no more.
Jon Rahm is officially heading to LIV Golf
Jon Rahm's departure is no longer a rumor, it's been confirmed. After rampant speculation, the breakaway tour has officially poached the world number three. Rahm had remained silent on the matter for a long time, but reports eventually confirmed the move.
Phil Mickelson had previously claimed that he knew Rahm was switching over from the PGA Tour since they share an agent. Eventually, that was proven to be true. The sum they paid Rahm for multiple seasons on the LIV circuit is among the most they've ever paid any player.
They reportedly offered Tiger Woods somewhere around $800 million, but he declined.