LIV Move Ruin Personal Relationships, Jon Rahm Reveals Disheartening PGA Tour Truth As PIF Merger Sheds Zero Hope

It was the year 2021 when LIV Golf entered the world of golf. It did not take long for many PGA Tour pros to walk over to the other side, which included the golf world’s beloved ‘Lefty’ Phil Mickelson and ‘El Nino’ Sergio Garcia. More followed the LIV path soon after, like Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka. To bring some peace between the two warring sides, on June 6th, 2023 the $3 billion merger was announced but since the merger has been plagued with constant delays.

On the other hand, the list of PGA Tours turning to LIV Golf kept increasing. One of the biggest shockers was when Jon Rahm finally joined the Saudi league for the 2024 season. After the shift, a lot of things have changed for him. From not being able to play for the PGA Tour championship because of the suspension order to seeing changes in his past friendships, he has pretty much seen it all.

Jon Rahm was ignored during the Masters

The official X (formerly Twitter) account of the NUCLR Golf, recently shared a picture of Jon Rahm from the greens of the Augusta National. For the Spaniard, joining LIV Golf has brought about mixed reactions from his friends who are still a part of the PGA Tour. The Spaniard stated that some of his old friends greeted him with mirth and excitement on the harrowed golf course in Georgia. He said, “Some did. I expected it.”

There were some people who he had expected would have been a little tougher with him, but one among them hugged him, and well, Jon Rahm thought that he might be overthinking the situation. He added, “I think that, among all the relationships I have, it has been everything that I expected. My friends are still my friends.” That’s not all shared another instance of the change in behaviour of the people and pointed out one of his old acquaintances and stated, “And then someone, with whom I was very cordial and had a positive relationship (in quotes), has not even looked at me”.

But the game was more important for him, and the fact that he was happy to be a part of the breakaway league. It did not matter to him. He concluded, “If someone changes their opinion of me, it is more their problem than mine. I am not worried”. And well, not that Jon Rahm was not prepared for all of this to happen.

He just did not know who would be the one supporting him and who wouldn’t. This was not the first time he encountered such a situation. During an interview with ESPN, he shared that although his friends, like Rory McIlroy, have been exceptionally supportive of his decision, there were prominent players who practically never attempted to even understand why he took the step!

Tiger Woods ghosted Jon Rahm as he switched

As Jon Rahm became the highest-ranked player in the world to join LIV Golf, he dropped messages to people close to him, to share why he came to the decision. Tiger Woods was one of them. He said, “I texted him and the people that try to reach out, you know, the process when I signed and I just let him know, ‘Hey, you know, this is a personal decision. I have nothing against anybody.’”

So what was the 82-time PGA Tour winner’s reply? In simple words, nothing. When Rahm was asked whether Woods had reached out or given any reaction to his decision to move to the breakaway league, the Spaniard had a short, four-word reply, “Tiger? No, not really,” Well, it is needless to say that as long as the merger does not come into action, the relationships at the golfing greens will indeed continue to deteriorate!