(Bleacher Report) Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm is set to move from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf.
Per Cara Lombardo, Louise Radnofsky and Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal, Rahm’s deal with LIV is expected to be worth between $450-600 million and could be finalized as early as this week. It will be among the richest the Saudi-backed league has offered any golfer.
There has been speculation that Rahm was set to leave the PGA Tour. He wasn’t included among the commitments released this week for the American Express tournament in January. He’s played in the event each of the past two years, winning in 2023.
Jon Rahm was #2 on the PGA Tour money list last year.
He is leaving for LIV.
For context that would be like Scherzer, Degrom, or Cole leaving MLB for another league.
Wild to think about.
— Jacob Turner (@TheJacobTurner) December 7, 2023
Rahm’s deal also comes at a time when the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf that was originally announced in June is in a state of limbo. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said at an event last week that Dec. 31 remains a “firm target” date for the merger to be finalized.
Bloomberg’s Malathi Nayak and Giles Turner reported in October the merger wouldn’t be completed by the end of this year due to a variety of issues, including the ongoing investigation from the U.S. Justice Department to determine if it violates antitrust laws.
Even if the potential merger does go through, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman has said the two groups will still operate independent of each other.
