On and off LIV Golf, the 2024 season for Jon Rahm has not been particularly consistent. It is the Spaniard’s debut season in the Saudi-backed league. Despite several strong finishes Rahmbo has yet to secure a victory in the PIF-funded league. Even then, Rahm holds the second position in this year’s LIV Golf season standings. The Spaniard will be seen teeing off in Andalucia, as according to the 29-year-old, LIV Golf provides a “world-class stage” for golf in Spain as he aims to replicate his previous top-10 finishes.

On the other hand, when Rahm has played outside of the disruptive league, his finishes have been rather disappointing As the defending champion at the 88th Masters, the Spaniard struggled massively and finished T45 on the leaderboard.

Then, at Valhalla, the LIV Golf pro missed the cut after shooting 1 over 72 and breaking his long streak of making the cut at 18 consecutive majors. Coming to the 124th U.S. Open, Rahm was down with a foot infection; thus, he had to withdraw from the event. Seemingly, Rahm’s performance outside of LIV Golf has not been satisfactory.

Unable to carve a mark at majors, the golf world doubted Rahm’s gameplay and questioned whether moving to LIV Golf had affected it. Yet, despite struggling to put up a better score in the majors, Rahm’s performance on LIV Golf has been top-notch. And his recent praise for the Greg Norma-led circuit sparked ire among golf fans.

The golf world mocks Jon Rahm’s LIV Golf ranking

The field of majors always has more than 100 players teeing up, including not only PGA Tour or LIV Golf pros but also amateurs and pros from the Asian Tour or developmental circuits. Consequently, these events represent the zenith, where a good finish would be a testament to a pro’s golf skills. And this is where Rahm failed in 2024. Taking the same into account, a fan said, “So when he plays in major venues with real fields he sucks, but when he plays in 54 hole events with half the competition he’s good. Got it.” 

In all eight events Rahm has played on LIV Golf so far, the 29-year-old has surprisingly always finished in third place or lower but inside the top 10. However, despite leading the field after 36 holes several times, the Spaniard has not won any events or finished runner-up at one. On the other hand, when he was playing on the PGA Tour in 2023, Rahm won four times in the season. This drastic difference made this fan downplay Rahm’s second rank on the LIV season log standings, as they said, “But also hasn’t finished higher than 3rd.. surely not what the expectation was, nor what you would expect had he stayed on the PGA tour…”

Another fan dismissed Rahm’s second rank as they criticized the field strength in LIV Golf. The PGA Tour events have top players from OWGR teeing up, like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and more. However, in LIV Golf, there are only a few names like Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and other trending players. Thus is considered to have a weaker field than the Tour by many.

This forced a fan to disparage Rahm’s season-long position, saying, “he’s getting top tens…in tournaments that have like 10 actual players. He was the best player in the world about a year ago. Now he can’t even get a win against 10 people in a meaningless tournament, much less perform at a major. 2nd in the LIV standings means nothing.” One fan reciprocated with a similar stance on Rahm and the LIV Golf field. But they focused more on the wildcard aspect of LIV, where Anthony Kim became part of the league after a 12-year hiatus. And struggling Hudson Swafford was given another chance, affecting the field’s strength more. Hence, this fan de-emphasized Rahm’s LIV ranking and said, “It’s not a feat really. Rahm not finishing Top 10 in a 50 person field where 1/2 the field is made up of Anthony Kim’s, Pat Perez’s and Hudson Swafford is not impressive. In your honest opinion: How many of LIVs players are an actual threat to finish Top 10? 35?”

Does Rahm’s ranking matter? No, if this viewer was asked. After his dismal performance in the majors, Rahm’s performance at LIV Golf events didn’t signify his skills. Even though LIV Golf has potentially risen in TV ratings and has attracted a new fan base, it still lags behind the PGA Tour, making the league and its standing less relevant. As this fan said, “Yeah but nobody watches LIV.. so in my opinion.. he’s had an awful year and I have nothing to go off of other than the majors for him unfortunately.” 

The Spaniard now plays in his home country, Andalucia for another LIV Golf event. Following this, Rahm would probably play in the 152nd Open Championship. If he successfully wins LIV Golf Andalucia and finishes better at the last major, the 29-year-old could silence his critics with a resounding response.