Jon Rahm wants to only be thinking about how to combat Los Angeles Country Club’s rough around the greens and treacherous fairways this week ahead of the U.S. Open.
But there’s a big elephant in the room following golf’s historic merger by the PGA Tour, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the DP World Tour.
Rahm admitted to reporters Tuesday that PGA Tour players, who he stuck with when LIV Golf tried to pry him away, and others away from the tour feel “betrayed.”
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Jon Rahm of Spain waves after his putt on the third hole during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club April 9, 2023, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
“There’s a lot of non-answered questions, and it’s tough in the week before a major,” Rahm said. “Trying not to think about it as much as possible. I think it gets to a point where you want to have faith in management, and I want to have faith that this is the best thing for all of us, but it’s clear that that’s not the consensus.
“The general feeling is that a lot of people feel a bit of betrayal from management.”
Rahm, much like Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and the rest of the players, had no clue the merger was coming. Rahm called it a “bombshell” he learned of while taking care of his children.
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“We’re certainly in a spot in time where there’s a big question mark, where we don’t have the answers we would like. It’s hard to say,” said Rahm, the No. 2-ranked player in the world entering this week.
McIlroy had a positive outlook despite expressing some confusion last week ahead of the RBC Canadian Open. And Collin Morikawa was up front about his questions.
Jon Rahm of Spain waves after his putt on the sixth hole during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club April 7, 2023, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
“We want to know the why,” Morikawa said, via ESPN, of the merger. “I think there’s so many different parties involved that there’s too many answers to really put it into one underlying umbrella of the why because I think what you’ve seen from the players versus what you’ve seen from maybe our commissioner versus the board versus Yasir [Al-Rumayyan] versus LIV versus … there’s a lot of parties involved. Everyone has had a kind of different answer and different reaction to all this.”
The consensus hope among PGA Tour players — and everyone in professional golf — is that an explanation is forthcoming.
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It’s been two weeks since it was announced, and the initial reaction from some players was that PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan was a “hypocrite,” having previously mentioned the 9/11 terrorist attacks to condemn LIV Golf and it’s Saudi-backed finances.
Jon Rahm of Spain watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club April 9, 2023, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Now, golf’s primary financial backbone will be the PIF.
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A mix of PGA Tour and LIV Golf players will be on full display at LACC this week for major No. 3 of four this season.
