HUGO COSTA
Updated Wednesday, December 6, 2023 – 11:45
The possibility of an agreement between the Saudi circuit and the PGA Tour that would allow the Spaniard to play the big tournaments is key. He will be the best paid in the world
Jon Rahm, in an image from this season.EFE
A first bombshell shook golf last June with the agreement between the PIF (Public Investment Foundation of Saudi Arabia) and the PGA Tour. That shock wave is still shaking the waters of a sport that is counting down the hours until next December 31, the date on which the aforementioned pact should be formalized. The offices in Jedah (Saud Arabia) and Jacksonville (Florida) are a hive of lawyers and executives who are drafting clauses against the clock to try to seal an alliance with many conflicting points. However, there is a secret weapon that could tip the balance of the agreement: Jon Rahm.
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Golf.
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The one from Barrika has a foot and a half in LIV Golf. The rumor started on Sunday of the last DP World Tour tournament. This newspaper received the news from one of the highest executives of the formerly called European Circuit. From then on, a whole investigative task began that was met with an absolute silence that draws special attention when it comes from the direct environment of the Spanish player, who did not want to speak out, when on other occasions he did come out to attack the rumor, to deny it. his possible march to the Saudi league.
In September 2022, it was precisely Jon Rahm who came forward to deny a social media post from one of the most active accounts about LIV Golf. LIV Golf Insider published that the Spaniard had agreed to move to LIV. “I have to inform you that you have started a bad streak because you and your sources are wrong,” Jon said. So, there was also an immediate denial when this newspaper raised the issue with his family and his manager.
Just a few months before, in June 2022, on the occasion of the US Open, Jon Rahm made his position and opinion very clear regarding what the Saudi tour meant for him. “Three days for me is not a golf tournament, and no cut. It’s that simple. I want to play against the best in the world in a format that has existed for hundreds of years.” The Spaniard went further: “Yes, the money is great, but when Kelley and I saw what was happening and we started talking about it, we thought: will our lifestyle change if I win 400 million dollars? No, not change anything.” “I could retire right now with what I’ve done and live a very happy life and never play golf again. Actually, I have never played for financial reasons. I do it for the love of this sport and I want it to be against the best in the world. I’ve always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA Tour owns all of that. There is a meaning when you win certain tournaments and that matters a lot to me,” he added then.
The question right now is obvious, what has changed in just over a year for Rahm to pluck the daisy and negotiate with the Saudis? The most notable difference is the possibility of an agreement that perhaps will allow Barrika (even if he emigrates to LIV) to continue competing in the most important tournaments of the PGA Tour and in the Ryder Cup. This negotiation may be a measure of pressure to emerge better positioned in the supposed our structure of the PGA Tour that aims to make its players partners in the business?
Precisely the dizzying economic supply could have definitively tipped the balance. Jon Rahm would become the highest-paid golfer on the LIV, with an amount of more than $550 million (reported by the Telegraph) as a signing fee, above other players who left the PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson y Dustin Johnson. In August 2022 there was talk that the new league financed by the Saudi Arabian government offered between 700 and 800 million dollars to Tiger Woods to try to add to your project.
Rahm, during the Augusta Masters, in April.Charlie RiedelAP
Nothing is clear about this, the only thing that is known is that there is a negotiation that is convulsing the PGA Tour in recent weeks. “I would be surprised, yes, but a lot of different things have happened in recent weeks. Things have changed and will continue to change,” he himself stated. Tiger Woods when they asked him about the rumors. “Jon Rahm is one of the biggest assets we have on the PGA Tour. He wouldn’t be very good for us overall because we want to play against the best players in the world and that’s what Jon is. I know there have been some guys who have talked with him. I know maybe he’s weighing some decisions, maybe not…” Jordan Spiethanother of the heavyweights of the PGA Tour.
Everyone is talking, except Jon Rahm, who plans to go to the San Mamés stadium on December 16 to take the kick-off dressed in the green jacket. The Spanish player’s entourage warns that it is a private visit and will not attend to the media. A few weeks ago Rahm also announced that he would not compete in the famous Tiger Woods League (TGL) despite having announced his beginnings. The Spaniard claimed not being able to commit all the time he needed to participate in this experience. He will not be defending the title at the American Express at the beginning of the year either, although he is expected to be in the tournament of champions that will open 2024 in Hawaii. Coincidences or signs of new winds? We understand that we will not have to wait too long to know the end of this story and Jon Rahm’s destiny and reasons for starting a new stage in 2024 or staying on the PGA Tour.
2023-12-06 10:45:17
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