Jon Rahm Suspended From the PGA Tour: Massive Backlash for the LIV Golfer Days After His ‘Unauthorized’ Jump

The PGA Tour officially confirmed what was speculated. Jon Rahm has been suspended by the tour for his “association with a series of unauthorized tournaments.” The Tour sent a memo to its players updating them on a new ranking – ‘FedEx Cup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List.’ This smashes his hopes of playing on the PGA Tour despite switching to LIV Golf.

The defending Masters champion jumped ship last week for a reported fee of $500 million. However, the Spaniard expressed his desire to play for the PGA Tour simultaneously with LIV Golf, keeping an eye on the December 31 deadline of the $3B merger announcement. The suspension is in line with the PGA Tour’s earlier stance with Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and others who joined the breakaway league.

Disappointment for Jon Rahm, relief for many

As per the official memo, the new ranking format will remove “players who are under suspension for their participation in an unauthorized tournament or their association with a series of unauthorized tournaments from the FedEx Cup points list.” Rex Hoggard of NBC shared a screengrab of the memo sent to the players. 

As per the official memo, this will result in adjustments to the 2022-23 FedEx Cup Playoffs and eligibility points list as well. The current World No. 3 was tied at the 18th position with Lucas Glover on the FedEx Cup points list with four wins to his name. This effectively negates his chances of a title defense in the three PGA Tour events he won – at The Sentry, The American Express, and The Genesis Invitational.

The most immediate benefit will fall on Tony Finau, who moves up one spot to 19. This means Corey Conners will come within 25. For Mackenzie Hughes, who climbs up to 50, this is a huge opportunity as the Canadian becomes eligible for all the Signature events on the 2024 calendar. As per NBC, Alex Smalley qualifies for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational, the first two signature events of the calendar, courtesy of his one-spot climb in the points list to No.60. 

At the bottom rung, for Carl Yuan, it means his PGA Tour card is secured. Yuan moved up to the 125th spot after PGAT decided to ban Jon Rahm. It was a massive shot in the arm for Paul Haley II as well. The 35-year-old American pro moves up to 160th spot, receiving his conditional status. 

Read More: What Are the 3 Major Takeaways From Jon Rahm’s Grand Entry Into the World of LIV Golf

In addition to removing Rahm from the FedEx Cup points list, the memo also informed players that the Tour would go ahead with the new points structure. Earlier, anonymous tour players sent a petition asking the Tour to ditch the proposal. The players pointed out that a

fifth-place finish at a Signature event will get 272% more points than the result at a normal event. The Tour, however, said it is the best way to go forward and they would sit for discussion again in June to review the points structure.Watch This Story | The Management of a 250 Years Old Club Took a Bold Step Revealing the Unprecedented Hefty Prize Purse Compared to Previous Year’s $14M for Which Several PGA Pros Ditched the John Deere Classic