‘I don’t play for money’: Rahm takes aim at LIV Golf
Jon Rahm is quickly joining Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas as an important mouthpiece for the PGA Tour. And he doesn’t mince his words about the Saudi-backed series
While a handful of players have already U-turned on their original decision to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series, it’s safe to say Jon Rahm has absolutely no interest in doing the same.
While the likes of Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Pat Perez performed a full one-eighty on their declaration of loyalty to the PGA Tour, Rahm is adamant he won’t be following suit.
“I do see the appeal that some other people see towards the LIV event,” he said at a press conference ahead of his US Open title defence. “But let me put this delicately – I do see some of the points and arguments they can make towards why they prefer it.
“I want to play against the best in the world in a format that’s been going on for hundreds of years.
“Yes, money is great. But when this first thing happened, [my wife] Kelly and I started talking about it and we were like, ‘Would our lifestyle change if I got 400 million?’ No. It would not change one bit.”
Rahm, who has made almost $34 million on the PGA Tour alone, added: “Truth be told I could retire now with what I’ve made and live a very happy life and not play golf again.
“I’ve never played the game of golf for monetary reasons. I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world.
“My heart is with the PGA Tour.”
The Spaniard, at Brookline this week looking to become just the seventh player to win back-to-back US Opens, added another LIV Golf factor that doesn’t interest him.
“To be honest, the format is not really appealing to me,” he said. “Shotgun, three days – to me this is not really a golf tournament. It’s that simple.
“For a lot of people, I’m not going to lie, those next three or four years are basically worth their retirement plan.”
Listen to NCG’s Alex Perry discussing the LIV Golf Invitational on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast
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George Cooper
A golf fanatic his entire life, George Cooper is NCG's man for all goings-on at the top level of the game, whether it's the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA or LIV Golf. He also looks after NCG's Twitter and Facebook accounts. George is a member of Woburn, but is not friends with Ian Poulter.
