Mum’s the Word: As Jon Rahm Goes Tight-lipped Post-LIV Defection, Where is PIF-PGA Tour Merger Headed To

Jon Rahm was flabbergasted. Who wouldn’t be, after all? The Spaniard came to receive the ‘Dama Bilbaina 2023’ at the Sociedad Bilbaina Hall. The center was swarmed by media, almost outnumbering the guests. The Spanish international didn’t expect the LIV Golf buzz to reach the Basque town of Biscay and turn the “intimate” occasion into a media slugfest. “I am under very strict instructions not to do public events, which I have imposed on myself a little bit for myself,” the Spanish International was quick to shake off the media.

Although one LIV Golf spokesperson clarified to Golf Magazine that it has been taken out of context, LIV Golf does have rather strange rules as reported by WSJ earlier. While Rahm seemingly goes behind the iron curtain out of personal reasons, it bears some uncanny similarity with the June 6 merger announcement. When Jay Monahan appeared on a morning show with Yasir Al-Rumayyan by his side, they revealed too little. So much so that Monahan had to spend the rest of the day clarifying the merger announcement. So much was hidden that it took a U.S. Department of Justice investigation to unearth some crucial details. As the latest marquee signing vows to button himself up after shocking the world with his LIV Golf move, what does it indicate for the $3 billion framework agreement that’s set to reach its deadline this month?

The PGA Tour lost a huge opportunity

Rahm’s bolt from the PGA Tour means comes a momentous time when both are locked in talks for a $3 billion merger. As per Sports Illustrated, the PIF, during the initial agreement, wanted to invest $2 billion in the PGA Tour for a minority stake. At the same time, it kept aside $1 billion for the players who refused to join the breakaway league.

Let’s do some simple math here. The PGA Tour’s 2022–23 money list has 241 players on it. Without Jon Rahm, who was in the second position with $16 million, each player would have gotten $4.16M each from PIF for not staying loyal to the PGA Tour. But reportedly, after much internal debate, the proposal didn’t work out.

Also, they initially offered Jay Monahan the chance to look for outside investors. For Monahan, the task was cut out. Find more American investors who could match up with or rival PIF’s proposal. LIV‘s interest in the PGA Tour automatically worked in the Tour’s favor.

PGAT soon received interest from multiple parties that wanted to be partners in the $3 framework agreement. Eventually, Fenway Sports Group, Endevaor, and Acorn came into the picture. Consequently, the PIF was pushed to the backside with no leverage. Furthermore, in a memo, they agreed to not poach any players in ‘good faith’—Norman’s hands were tied for this season.

Jon Rahm—the missing piece of the puzzle?

Probably most PGA Tour loyalists were blinded by the fact that the 2022–23 season had already ended for LIV Golf. The fledgling league started recruiting players from the international series with the Promotions Tournament in the offing. With just weeks left before the December 31 deadline, LIV Golf needed something grand to bring the PGAT from the penthouse to the boardroom on the ground floor.

Does Rumayyan have enough leverage with Rahm? Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of multiple big-money investors led by Fenway Sports Group, is reportedly preparing a mammoth bid that could, in fact, rival the PIFs’s offer. If the PIF board feels Rahm’s sign is not enough, they can hunt for more players from the tour.

Currently, the upstart league has nine open spots: two in Cleeks GC, one in Hyflyers GC, one in Ironhead GC, two in Ripper GC, and three in Rahm’s recently opened yet-to-be-named team. Notably, they have filled four spots with Andy Ogletree and three others from the LIV Golf Promotions tour without allocating the roster for them.

But that’s definitely not enough. And the 11-time PGA Tour winner won’t be content with run-of-the-mill golfers. If the Great White Shark feels it and the board approves, there could be more shock transfers, even before the December 31 deadline. Jon Rahm’s reported $600 million king’s ransom was just an omen of the fallout of a wrecked deal—PIF can go bigger.

A PGAT-PIF agreement failure will spell disaster

If anything, PIF’s desperation to bring the defending Masters Champion on board indicates a rather sinister future if both parties can’t come to terms. Jay Monahan’s compulsion behind forging a deal at the cost of toe-curling mortification can be understood in pretty tangible terms: the tour bled $20 million in legal jousting with PIF. That’s just in the first five months of the much-publicized courtroom duels alone.

However, why is PIF, with its estimated $700 billion in riches, so eager to strike a deal with a traditional tour that reeks of a bygone era for its biggest critics, who are also the wild-and-woolly proselytes of LIV Golf? There were reports that a handful of PGA Tour players could follow in Rahm’s footsteps to exit their home circuit, be it the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour. However, most of those whose names were dragged into the rumor mill have come away unscathed, sealing their future—for at least a year—on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

Regardless, Jon Rahm has a new team he is going to steer, and the Spaniard needs his crew. The Great White Shark is not going to hand him the handful of John Does that rose through the ranks of the Promotions Tour. Despite the hue and cry about the blessings of meritocracy finally reaching the shores of LIV, most of the highlighted players—former Major Champions, PGA Tour winners, rising amateurs, etc.—couldn’t put their feet beyond the first two rounds. While the shrewd businessman in Norman boasts about the league’s enhanced appeal because of the Spaniard’s joining, the linksman in Norman knows the struggle LIV Golf is going through to find its footing inside golf lovers’ hearts.

Read More: Amid Persistent PGA Tour Sponsorship Troubles, Will the $3B PIF Framework Agreement Provide Succor for Jay Monahan?

The 54-hole no-cut format, apparently based on a noble utilitarian aim of doling out something to everyone, has cut the competitive edge of a sport that thrived on it. Let alone fans, it hasn’t sat well with his latest marquee signing, Jon Rahm.

Ultimately, it’s a zero-sum game for both parties. The Spaniard’s heist sends only one signal: PIF can suck the marrow out of the PGA Tour if they want to. But it’s a long haul. Even if LIV Golf establishes dominance in the next four to five years or a decade, it’ll be a pyrrhic victory. It’s the golf fans who stand to lose. Yet again.

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