Very few dare doubt Jon Rahm’s dexterity with a stick and a ball. But it takes trained eyes to dissect what makes him ‘special’. Trained eyes like those of Hank Haney, who worked with Tiger Woods between 2004 and 2010.

Haney praised the Spaniard’s skills while retweeting a clip from the range. Originally posted by Rahm’s team, Legion XIII, he is seen hitting nine different shots: cut, draw, and straight, each with different ball flights: high, mid, and low.

The veteran swing coach was mighty impressed with the execution. “@JonRahmOfficial [Jon Rahm] hitting the 9 shots to perfection, not many players could do this, he’s a special player,” Haney wrote on his official X (formerly Twitter handle).

Jon Rahm recently sniffed victory in LIV Golf for the first time since joining the Greg Norman-fronted side last December. That hopes to give him a massive boost before heading to the Olympics, where he is the highest-paid athlete thanks to his eye-watering contract.

Rahm was picked to pieces in the wake of his move to the PIF-funded side. Haney, however, refused to join the bandwagon then. Rather, the veteran swing instructor opined that very few could resist when $600 million is put on their table. Tiger Woods obviously thought otherwise.

The 82-time PGA Tour winner was miffed at Jon Rahm for switching to LIV golf after disparaging the format a year prior. The Spanish International revealed that Woods didn’t reply to his parting text. That might, however, change now that Tiger Woods has taken it upon himself to mend past conflicts.

The 48-year-old congratulated Bryson DeChambeau for his second U.S. Open victory. Phil Mickelson, too, revealed that he had a short chat with the former World No. 1 at the Royal Troon practice range.

This comes against the backdrop of the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour’s ongoing negotiations with PIF, the Saudi sovereign fund that backs LIV Golf. Only time will tell if the armistice will pave the way for more exchange between LIV golfers and the rest. As for Haney, he has stuck to his initial views on the PIF-funded side: that it is good for the game.

Hank Haney has been in favor of LIV Golf since its inception

Hank Haney has previously disputed the claims that the LIV field is considerably weak. Contrarily, the 68-year-old claimed the PGA Tour is more sapless without bigwigs like Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and others.

Dubbing critics as ‘corrupt golf media’, Haney tweeted not too long ago, “[I]t’s easier than ever to win on the PGA Tour, which is one of the many reasons why they are charter members of the CGM.” Interestingly, he has bandied that phrase in more recent times as well.

Last May, the 68-year-old again took to social media to lash out at Bryson DeChambeau’s Olympic exclusion. DeChambeau wasn’t eligible due to his OWGR ranking. LIV golf pros don’t receive world-ranking points.

Haney wrote, “Not sure I follow the logic of why an American shouldn’t be able to represent his country in the Olympic’s [sic] because he is playing on the @livgolf_league. Also not sure how this is a good thing for the game of golf but some people are convinced it is.”

Hank Haney and Tiger Woods split in 2010 after netting six majors together. More than a decade later, their paths might again cross. The only outlier is that Woods has yet to make any of the positive comments in public. Haney, on the other hand, never shied away from taking a bold stance in public.