Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm is believed to be locked in negotiations with LIV Golf regarding a shock move to the Saudi-funded breakaway tour, according to reports. The world No. 3 won the second major of his career at Augusta National in April before starring for Europe at this year’s Ryder Cup as Luke Donald’s team regained the trophy from the USA with an emphatic 16.5-11.5 victory in Rome.
The Spaniard is currently one of the top stars in the sport, but eyebrows were raised after he surprisingly withdrew from Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods’ new TGL competition that had been scheduled to commence in January 2024.
But on Wednesday morning, the popular golf social media account Flushing It claimed that Rahm was already at an advanced stage in discussions to defect to LIV in a move that would send shockwaves through the professional game and demonstrate a clear statement of intent from the Public Investment Fund-funded golf league.
Flushing It posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Jon Rahm is in late stage talks to join LIV Golf and it’s believed the hold up is not financial, but is due to him wishing to modify the format of the league.
“Any changes would need the approval of all team captains as well as the league themselves. This is making negotiations difficult, but they are intensifying.
“Jon won 4 times this year, including the Masters, and would be a huge asset for LIV. It is understood that if a deal is reached he would join Sergio Garcia and Eugenio Chacarra on the Fireballs, with David Puig taking the 4th spot to make an all Spanish team.”
In a separate follow-up post, the account stressed that Rahm’s move is “NOT a done deal yet” and that LIV are officially denying the rumour but then doubled down by claiming that “from exhaustive conversations with various sources, it’s believed there are other top players in negotiations too”.
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The golf media account signposted Spanish outlet Ten Golf for first reporting the rumour on Tuesday, which was later translated by Matias Torge, the creator of the X account Handicap 54.
But the same claims are now being touched on by golf website bunkered, who say that a well-placed source has told them that talks of an imminent switch are “wide of the mark” but also said that Rahm was “closer to joining than he has been before”.
Rahm has been linked with a move to LIV before. The Spaniard has a close relationship with compatriot Sergio Garcia, who is already a member of the rebel tour and is also firm friends with LIV’s poster boy Phil Mickelson.
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